The Journals of Rupert Giles Vol 2
by CPO Backstreet
Summary: A novelisation of episodes from the first three seasons: Witch, The Dark Age and Earshot
1. Episode 1 Prologue

**Okay, so...does anyone remember when the show was on and they were publishing novelisations, usually consisting of three episodes centred around a specific character? Well, I decided many moons ago to have a try at novelising three of the ones they didn't do. And it occurred to me that people might be interested in the results. I realise this is bending the definition of "original story" to breaking point and then possibly actually breaking it, but as the saying goes "You have nothing to lose but your flames."**

* * *

EPISODE ONE:Witch

PROLOGUE

"This is madness." Rupert Giles eyed Buffy in disbelief. "What can you have been thinking? You are the Slayer. Lives depend upon you.I make allowances for your youth but I expect a certain amount of responsibility. And instead of this, you enslave yourself to this… _cult_."

Buffy Summers glanced down at her cheerleading outfit. "You don't like the colour?"

Giles sighed. Sunnydale had seemed a prestigious assignment when he'd been given it. Watcher to the Slayer, the Chosen One. A chance to shape and guide the girl on whom they all depended. He had no idea the girl in question would be so frivolous. "Do you ignore everything I say as a rule?"he demanded.

"No, I believe that's your trick,"Buffy bit back,"I told you, I'm trying out for the cheerleading squad."

Giles tried again. Buffy had come to the library to see him, that was a plus point. "You have a sacred birthright, Buffy. You were chosen to destroy vampires, not to wave pom poms at people. And as your Watcher, I forbid it."

If he had expected the pronouncement to impress Buffy, he was sorely mistaken. Instead she just gave him a sceptical look. "And you'll be stopping me how?"

She had a point. She was superhumanly strong and he was a school librarian. "By appealing to your common sense, if such a creature exists."

Buffy gave him a coy smile. It should have made him angry...but in truth, it reminded him of how fond he was of her. "I will still have time to fight the forces of evil, okay?"she told him placatingly,"I just want to have a life, I want to do something normal. Something safe."

* * *

If Buffy had been somewhere else at the time, she might have chosen her words better. For at that moment, in a darkened room, a cloaked figure was stirring a cauldron full of a foul-looking mixture, making sure everything was just right.

She took one of a set of dolls, a doll dressed in the yellow and red outfit of the Sunnydale High cheerleading squad. Chanting the incantation, she dropped the doll into the cauldron, watching as it sank under the surface of the mixture.

* * *

"Giles didn't approve, huh?"asked Willow Rosenberg. She and Buffy's other friend, Xander Harris, had met up with her on the way to the gym.

"He totally lost his water,"Buffy replied,"We haven't seen a vampire in over a week. I'd say he should get himself a girlfriend if he wasn't so old."

"Well, we're behind you,"Willow reassured her.

"People scoff at things like school spirit,"Xander agreed,"But look at these girls giving their all like this!" He broke off at the sight of one of the wannabee cheerleaders posed with her legs resting on beams, pointing in opposite directions. "Ooh, stretchy." He turned his attention back to the two girls. "Where was I?"

"You were pretending that seeing scantily clad girls in revealing positions was a spiritual experience," Willow told him.

"Who said I was pretending?"he fired back. He fished into his pocket and handed something to Buffy. "Oh, hey, here's a good luck thing for the tryouts."

"What's this?"Buffy asked.

"What's that?"Willow asked quickly. She was well aware of Xander's feelings for Buffy, even though Buffy herself seemed oblivious. As oblivious as Xander was of Willow's feelings for him.

Buffy smiled at the bracelet. "Oh, that's really sweet." She paused as she read the inscription on it. " _Yours Always_?"

"It came that way,"Xander insisted hastily,"They all said it."

Cordelia Chase sidled over to them. Normally she wouldn't lower herself to talking to Buffy and her friends but none of her regular cronies seemed to be present and she was looking for someone to sound off to. "Just look at that Amber." She nodded towards another candidate who seemed to be doing some complicated and very flexible warm-ups. "Who does she think she is, a Laker girl?"

"I heard she turned them down,"replied Willow. For a moment Cordelia actually seemed lost for words.

"All right!"called Joy, the head of the cheerleader squad,"First up, Amber Groves. If you're not auditioning, get off the floor."

Willow's attention was drawn to a newcomer to the group. "Amy! Hi!"

Buffy had only been at Sunnydale High a few weeks so she was still trying to get a handle on who was who. But she recognised Amy Madison from some of their classes, a blonde haired girl somewhat taller than Buffy herself.

"Hi,"Amy responded, seeming relieved to see a familiar face.

"I didn't know you wanted to be a cheerleader,"Willow commented,"You've lost a lot of weight."

Amy just shrugged ."Had to."

"Do you know Buffy?"Willow asked.

Buffy nodded to Amy, exchanging "Hi"s but then everyone's attention was drawn to the floor. "Oh, how I hate this,"Amy murmured,"Let me count the ways."

Amber was performing…and she was good. High kicks that a Slayer would be proud of, cart wheels, twisting her body into shapes Buffy didn't think were humanly possible…Buffy's mouth dropped open, as did those of everyone else in the room. Even Cordelia was impressed enough to give a haughty snort and look in the other direction, as though it was all beneath her.

"She trains with Benson,"Amy whispered,"He's the best that money can buy."

Buffy felt more out of her depth than ever. "They have cheerleading coaches?"

Amy nodded. "Don't you have? I train with my mum. Three hours each morning and three hours after school."

Buffy winced. "That much quality time with my mum would probably lead to some quality matricide."

"I know what you mean,"Amy agreed,"But she's really good."

Buffy looked back at Amber. The girl was smoking. Genuinely smoking. Wafts of white smoke seemed to be drifting off her body. "What the..?"Buffy murmured.

"That girl's on fire!"Willow cried.

Cordelia, still not looking, shot Willow a withering look. "Enough of the hyperbole."

Amber seemed oblivious to what was going on…until flames suddenly burst from her hands. There were gasps and screams of horror from the crowd, even Cordelia shocked by what was going on. Buffy pushed her way through the spectators, grabbing a banner off the wall, then dived at Amber, wrestling her to the ground before using the banner to extinguish the flames.

She cradled the wimpering and terrified girl in her arms. "It's okay, it's okay,"she said quietly,"You're gonna be okay."


	2. Episode 1 Chapter 1

**I actually managed to pick up a follow so thank you to that person!**

* * *

CHAPTER ONE

Buffy, Xander and Willow had decamped to the library after making sure Amber was all right, to fill Giles in on what was going on. "I've been slaying vampires for over a year now,"Buffy remarked,"and I have seen some pretty cringeworthy things but I've never seen anyone's hands get toasted before."

"I don't imagine you would,"Giles agreed.

"So it's not a vampire. "

"No. "

"But it is funky, right? Not of the norm?

"Quite. Spontaneous human combustion is rare and scientifically unexplainable but there have been case for hundreds of years. Usually all that's left is a pile of ashes."

"That's all that would have been left if Buffy hadn't been there,"Willow pointed out.

"So we've no idea what caused it,"Xander sighed,"That's a comfort. "

"But that's the joy of living on a hellmouth,"Giles replied enthusiastically,"There's a veritable cornucopia of fiends and devils and ghouls to engage." He noticed the looks the teens were giving him. "Pardon me for finding the glass half full."

"Any common denominators in cases of spontaneous combustion?"Buffy asked him.

"Rage,"Giles answered,"In most cases the person who combusted was terribly angry or upset."

"So, maybe Amber has the power to make herself be on fire,"Xander mused,"It's like the Human Torch, only it hurts."

"I need to get the skinny on Amber,"Buffy decided,"Find out if she's had any colourful episodes before."

"Which means illegally hacking into the school's confidential files,"Willow realised with a smile,"At last, something I can do."

"I'll ask around about her,"Xander offered.

Buffy stepped in front of her two friends as they made for the stairs. The pair had found out her identity as the Slayer by accident and, although they'd been a help during her first major battle, she sometimes shared Giles' reluctance to bring outsiders into her mission. "You two don't have to get involved."

"What d'ya mean? We're a team!"Xander protested. He looked uncertain. "Aren't we a team?"

"Yeah!"Willow agreed,"You're the Slayer and we're the Slayerettes. "

"I just don't like putting you guys in danger,"Buffy explained.

"I laugh in the face of danger,"Xander replied,"Then I hide until it goes away."

Buffy gave up. In truth, she was glad to have them around. "Okay, just walk softly, at least until we know a little more." She glanced at Giles. "What if Amber isn't causing these problems herself?"

"Then we have to determine who or what did,"Giles replied,"and deal with it accordingly. "

* * *

Buffy got home to the sight of a number of wooden boxes in the kitchen. Her mother, Joyce Summers, was trying to prise the lid off one of them with a crowbar. "Hey!"Buffy greeted her.

"Hi, how was school?"Joyce returned.

"Mmm, a reverent joy,"Buffy replied with a trace of irony,"What's all this?"

"It's for the tribal art display."

"Cool!" Buffy tried to change the subject to her day. "We had tryouts today?"

Joyce's attention was still firmly focused on the box. "Oh, great, how did that go?"

"I didn't actually get to try out, there was an accident. Pretty fierce competition though."

"Oh, I know you'll do fine. Keep on pluggin', just have to get back on the horse."

Buffy still wasn't getting the response she wanted. "Mum?"

"Yeah?"

"What was I trying out for?"

Joyce stopped what she was doing and looked at Buffy. "Some activity?" She looked contrite. "I'm sorry, I've no idea."

Buffy appreciated the honesty if nothing else. "That's okay. Your platitudes are good for all occasions."

Joyce seemed to have returned her attention to the box already. "I'm distracted, gotta lot of inventory to go through here. This is my gallery's first major show. You know, it might not physically kill you to give me a hand here."

Joyce walked away from the box she'd been trying to open. Buffy made sure her mother wasn't looking, then casually walked over to the box and pulled the lid off with one hand. "It was cheerleading,"she explained.

Joyce turned to face her with a big smile. "Oh good! I'm glad you're taking that up again, it'll keep you out of trouble."

Buffy felt a twist in her gut. Her mother thinking the worst of her was something she'd had to get used to, since she'd started all the Slayer activities she couldn't explain. "I'm not in trouble."

"No, not yet,"Joyce agreed before suddenly realising she'd upset her daughter,"I mean, you stopped cheerleading just before the trouble, so it's good you're going back." She looked into the box Buffy had just opened and hastily jammed the lid back on. "Oh dear. "

"What?" Buffy had only given the black ebony figurine a fleeting glance.

"A fertility statue. You don't need to see it "

Buffy struggled to hold her mother's attention. "You know, one of the other girls, Amy, trains with her mum. Three hours a day."

"Mmm-hmm?"Joyce replied distractedly.

"Sounds like her mum's really into it. "

Joyce took the bait and gave Buffy a warning look. "Sounds like her mum doesn't have a lot to do." She walked out of the room.

Buffy gave up, instead lifting the statue out of its box and staring at it. She could see where the fertility part came in. "Jeepers."

* * *

Buffy had rejoined the tryouts for the cheerleading squad and found herself in a group of six, three standing in front of the other three in a staggered line. "Despite the terrible thing that happened yesterday,"Joy was telling them,"we still have to pick new cheerleaders. If you make the team, you'll find your names posted in the quad after lunch. Let's begin with group performance "

Amy, standing next to Buffy, leaned over and whispered to her. "Why do my hands always sweat when I'm nervous?"

"You'll do fine,"Buffy reassured her.

Joy gestured for them to start and Buffy tried to remember the moves and the chant in line with the other girls. "Sunnydale! Sunnydale! We never fail! We never fail! Jump and shoot, shoot and score, the other team is such a bore!"

All the girls did a somersault forwards but while five of them managed to come down in a crouch on their mark, Amy overbalanced to her right, colliding with Cordelia who was in front of her. Both girls ended up on the floor in a tangled heap.

Cordelia jumped to her feet. " You saw that, right? That wasn't me! You saw that, right?" She fixed Amy with an angry glare before turning her placating expression back to Joy. "Right?"

* * *

When Buffy caught up with Amy outside the tryout, she was staring hard into the school trophy cabinet. Her attention seemed to be mostly focused on a photo of a brown-haired woman dressed in a cheerleader outside. "That's my mum,"she explained.

"No way!" Buffy read the writing underneath. "Catherine Madison. Get down with your bad self!"

"Her nickname was Catherine the Great,"Amy told her admiringly. She nodded to the trophy in front of the photo, a silver figurine of a cheerleader. "She took the team all the way to the TriCounty Championship. No-one ever managed that before. Or since. She and my dad were homecoming king and queen, they got married right after graduation."

"That's kinda romantic. "

"He was a big loser,"Amy replied, her voice staying in the same casual, dreamy tone,"Never made any money. In the end, he ran off with Miss Trailer Trash when I was twelve."

"Okay, that part's not so romantic,"Buffy admitted,"My parents split up too."

"Drag, huh?"Amy asked before carrying on with the eulogy,"He left my mum with nothing. She put herself through cosmetology school, bought me everything I ever wanted. And never once put on a single pound."

Despite Amy's admiring words, Buffy was beginning to find her attitude slightly disturbing. "Look, Amy, she sounds really great but it doesn't mean that you need to lock step as far as this cheerleading thing."

"She was the best,"Amy replied, sounding frantic,"And I just can't get my body to move like hers, I choked in there so bad!"

"No, Amy, you did fine,"Buffy offered encouragingly.

But nothing seemed to coax Amy out of her mood. "I'm going to get changed,"she replied, storming off nearly in tears.

"Hi, Amy,"called out Willow as the girl passed her. But Amy didn't respond. "Is she all right?"she asked Buffy.

"No,"Buffy replied,"She's wigging it about her mum, big cheerqueen back when."

Willow nodded in understanding. "Amy's mum is kind of…"

"Nazi-like?"Buffy suggested.

"Heil,"Willow confirmed,"If she puts on so much as an ounce, she padlocks the fridge and doesn't eat anything but broth."

"So Mommie Dearest is really…Mommie Dearest. "

"There's a bitter streak,"Willow agreed,"Amy's nice though. We used to hang out together in junior high. Sometimes, when her mum was on a broth kick, she'd come round my place and we'd stuff ourselves with brownies."

"So, any word on Amber?"Buffy asked as they headed down the corridor.

"Nothing thrilling. Average student. Got detention once, for smoking. Regular smoking, with a cigarette, not, like, being smoky. All pretty normal."

Buffy nodded. "Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens. Maybe nothing will."

* * *

She made her way through the locker room, the only sound being the dripping of taps from the shower. She picked out her target: Amy, standing by a locker, drying herself down and putting her things away. Amy turned round just as she got within reach of her and gave a gasp at the sight. "Cordelia!"

Cordelia spoke in her most threatening voice. "I have a dream, Amy. It involves me being on the cheerleading squad, being adored by every varsity male as far as the eye can see. We must achieve our dreams, Amy, or we wither and die."

"Look, I'm sorry,"Amy began but Cordelia cut her off.

"If your supreme klutziness out there today takes me out of the running, you will be so very beyond sorry." Cordelia gave a smile that didn't even come close to being sincere. "Have a nice day."

She stalked away, leaving Amy slumped against the locker in despair.

* * *

"I told Buffy about Amber,"Willow remarked as she and Xander walked across the quad.

"Cool, was she wearing it?"Xander asked. Willow blinked at the non-sequitur. "The bracelet, she was wearing it, right? Pretty much like we're going out. "

"Yeah, except without the hugging and kissing and her knowing about it. "

"So I'm just a figure of fun,"Xander complained,"I should ask her out, right?"

"You won't know till you ask,"Willow agreed.

Xander beamed at the idea. "That's why you're so cool, you're like a guy! You're my guy friend who knows about girl stuff. "

"Oh great, I'm a guy,"Willow sighed forlornly but Xander's attention was already focused elsewhere.

"Oh look, they're posting the list!"

Buffy and Amy were at the back of the crowd of girls trying to read the list of cheerleaders. There were shrieks and whoops of delight from in front of them as the successful candidates saw their names. "I can't take this,"Amy groaned.

Xander reached them. "Cover me, I'm going in,"he told them before pushing his way through the crowd towards the list.

Cordelia came over to where Buffy, Amy and Willow were standing. "You're lucky,"she told Amy.

"I made it?"Amy asked hopefully.

"No, I made it." And with a swish of her hair, Cordelia was gone.

Xander came back to them. "Wow, one of those girls elbowed me really hard. They should test for steroids. Okay, not only did you two make the team but you, Miss Summers, are first alternate and Amy's number three. And what better way to celebrate than a nice romantic drive-thru…"

His invitation was halted by Amy running off in tears.

"Xander, alternates are the ones who didn't make the team,"Willow explained,"They only fill in if something happens to the ones that did. "

"Excuse me,"Buffy amended as she went after Amy.

Xander sighed. "For I am Xander, King of Cretins, may all lesser cretins bow down before me."

Buffy caught up with Amy a few paces away. "At least it's over,"she said encouragingly,"And you know what I think we should do about it? Brownie pig out, my place, after school."

"How many more hours a day can I practise?"Amy moaned,"How much more can I do? This would never have happened to my mother. Never."

This time, Buffy didn't bother going after her.

* * *

In the attic with the dolls, the mixture was being prepared again. The cowled figure waved a hand over it while whispering the spell. "Give me the power. Give me the dark. I call on you, laughing gods. Let your blackness crawl beneath my skin." She took one of the dolls and wrapped a piece of cloth around its face, covering the eyes. "Accept this sacrifice…Cordelia." The doll sank beneath the mixture. "Feed on her. "


	3. Episode 1 Chapter 2

**I actually picked up two reviews, along with another follower, so thank you to those people!**

* * *

CHAPTER TWO

Buffy was packing her bag in her room the next morning when Joyce appeared in the doorway, smiling broadly. "Look what I found." She produced a book. "My junior high school yearbook." She sat next to Buffy on the bed, flicking to a page. "Oh look! There I am."

Buffy glanced at the photo. "Mum, I've accepted that you've had sex. I was not ready to know you had Farrah hair."

"This is Gidget hair,"Joyce corrected,"Don't they teach you anything in history?"

Buffy wasn't certain where Joyce was going but had a nasty feeling she didn't want to go there. "Well, it's really cool but I gotta book,"she announced, getting up and retrieving her bag.

But it wasn't enough to stop Joyce. "I was just thinking, I know the cheerleading didn't work out but maybe you could apply for yearbook staff? I did, it was a lot of fun."

"Not really my tip, Mum,"Buffy replied.

"I was photograph editor,"Joyce persisted,"I got to appear on every page, made me look a lot more popular than I was."

"And have you seen the kids that work on yearbook?"Buffy asked,"Nerds pick on them."

"Some of the best times I had in school were working on yearbook!"Joyce protested, sounding slightly offended.

"That's just it,"Buffy retorted. She'd seen what Catherine Madison's vicarious parenting had done to Amy, she wasn't going to go the same way. "I'm not you. I'm into my own thing."

"Well, your own thing, whatever it is, got you kicked out of school and meant we had to move here to find a decent school that would take you,"Joyce bit back. She saw the hurt flicker across Buffy's face and realised she'd gone too far. "Honey…" But Buffy was gone. "Nice parenting form,"Joyce muttered to herself,"Little shaky on the dismount."

* * *

Xander glanced at Cordelia as she walked past him and Willow in the corridor. "Hey, Cordelia!"he called out,"You haven't been mean to me all day, is it something I've done?" Cordelia just carried on walking, not even seeming to see him. "You see how she doesn't even notice that I'm a mammal, much less a human being?"

"I see that,"Willow agreed.

"It's the invisible man syndrome. A blessing in Cordelia's case, a curse in Buffy's."

"You're not invisible to Buffy,"Willow insisted.

"No, it's worse! I'm just a part of the scenery. Like an old pair of shoes or a rug that you walk on every day but don't really see."

"Like a pen,"Willow considered, looking at the pen she was carrying for reasons she hadn't really thought about,"that's all chewed up and you know you should throw it away but you don't, not because you like it but because you're used to…"

"Yes, that was my point,"Xander cut in,"there's no need to ram it through my head like a railroad spike. I'm going to take your advice and not beat around the bush."

Willow felt a sudden lurch in her stomach. "Or I could be wrong. Maybe you should beat around the bush more."

"No, I gotta be a man and ask her out,"Xander insisted,"No more ID bracelets, subtle innuendos, taking polaroids outside her bedroom window, that last part was a joke to relieve the tension because here she comes." He felt his body tense up as he saw Buffy coming down the corridor towards them, even though she too seemed more interested in Cordelia than him. "Into battle I go." A sudden stab of panic went through him and he jumped behind Willow. "Would you ask her out for me?" He took a deep breath and stepped out again. "No, me battle." He waited until Buffy was in earshot before calling out,"Hey, Buffy! Would you like to. . ?"

Buffy continued staring at Cordelia, who seemed to be fumbling with the combination padlock on one of the lockers, utterly failing to open it. "Is that even Cordelia's locker?"

"I have no idea,"Xander replied before trying to get the conversation back on track,"I just wondered if you'd like to accompany me on Friday night…"

Buffy wasn't listening, instead watching Cordelia as she gave up what she was trying to do and started stumbling in the opposite direction. "We'll finish this later,"she decided before hurrying off after her.

Xander made the sound of something crashing and burning.

* * *

Buffy followed Cordelia across the playground. Cordelia was making measured, careful strides, as though not entirely sure where she was going, her body rigid. Buffy slunk back, seeing what was going to happen.

Cordelia headed towards where the school driving instructor, Mr. Pole, was sitting on the bonnet of a car, looking impatient. "Nice of you to join us, Cordelia,"he remarked sarcastically,"We didn't keep you waiting or anything? Your turn to drive. Okay, people, let's buckle up." He nodded to the rest of the class, who scrambled into the back seat.

"I don't want to drive today, Mr. Pole,"Cordelia replied with a hint of nervousness as she made her way round to the driver's side.

"You've already flunked Drivers Ed twice,"Pole reminded her, as he got into the passenger seat,"Show me some moves or you'll be taking the bus to college. "

Cordelia sat in the driver's seat and stared at the dashboard, trying to focus. Everything seemed blurred, like it had done for the past few hours, getting steadily worse all the time.

Pole was still shouting orders in her ear. "Check the brakes, check the mirrors, start the engine."

Cordelia fumbled with the starter.

"Put the car in drive."

Cordelia struggled to manipulate the gear stick. Where was drive?

"Now move through the cones slowly. "

Cordelia hit the accelerator and the car lurched backwards, hitting the sign advertising the class. She moved the car into drive and moved forward through the cones. Right through them, sending them scattering in her path.

Buffy saw what was going on and broke into a run.

"Slow down, slow down!"Pole shouted, seeing the bewildered students standing in their path,"Turn right!"

Cordelia turned the wheel, bringing the vehicle out onto the playing field. She drove in a straight line, heading for the fence.

"Brake, brake!"Pole roared desperately.

The car smashed through the fence onto the road outside, skidding to a halt as cars swerved to avoid it. "Everybody get out!"Pole ordered.

Cordelia staggered out of the car into the road. She was the only person who didn't see the mail van speeding down the road, didn't realise she was directly in its path. At the last moment, she heard the engine and screamed.

Which was when Buffy caught up with her and leapt across the road, grabbing Cordelia and pulling her out of the van's path.

"Oh my god, I can't see anything!"Cordelia moaned.

Buffy looked at her and gasped. "Oh god."

"What's happening? I can't see anything!

Buffy could see what Cordelia could not. That her eyes had no pupils in them at all. They were completely white.

* * *

"Witchcraft. Blinding your enemies to disorient and disable them is one of the classics,"Giles noted when Buffy, Xander and Willow arrived at the library to report the latest incident.

"First vampires, now a witch,"Xander sighed,"No wonder you could still afford a house in Sunnydale."

"But why would anyone want to harm Cordelia?"Giles mused.

"Perhaps because they met her?"Willow suggested. She noticed Giles' look. "Did I say that?"

Giles decided to ignore the remark. "And set Amber on fire?"

"Yeah, those guys don't hang,"Xander mused.

"They're both cheerleaders,"Buffy realised.

"Someone doesn't like cheerleading?"Giles asked.

"Or likes it too much,"Buffy corrected.

"Amy,"Willow realised.

"Amy,"Buffy confirmed.

Xander looked from one to the other. "So you guys are leaning towards Amy?"

"She was desperate to get on the team,"Buffy pointed out,"I've got this feeling she'd do just about anything to make her mum's dream come true."

Giles looked less than convinced. "Let me get this right. This witch is casting horribly disfiguring spells so that she can become a cheerleader?"

"I think you're underestimating the amount of pressure a parent can lay on you,"Buffy told him,"If you're not a picture perfect carbon copy they tend to wig. "

"Cheerleading was like her mum's last hurrah,"Willow agreed.

"But we still have to deal with Amy,"Xander persisted, trying to contribute some brains to the discussion, "We should grab her and. . . "

"I think we should be sure she's the witch before we arouse her suspicions,"Giles advised,"She's capable of some fairly unpleasant things."

"Okay, so you're in high school, you're desperate to make the team and please your mum, so you turn to witchcraft,"Buffy mused,"What's the first thing you're going to do?"

"Check out the books on witchcraft!"Willow decided. She and Buffy dived for the library computer.

It took Xander a few seconds to work out what was going on. "No, no, that's the last thing you'd do!"he replied, hurrying over to them,"You don't wanna leave a paper trail. Forget that. "

"It'll only take a minute,"Willow told him.

"We don't have a minute!"Xander protested desperately,"Cheerleaders are in danger! Buffy's in danger! You were first alternate, you're on the team now Cordelia's gone! You could be next! We need to get you to a safe house." He tried to drag Buffy away from the computer.

"Xander…" Willow stared at the screen. " _Witches: Historic Roots to Modern Practice_ , checked out by Alexander Harris."

Buffy looked over her shoulder. " _The Pagan Rites_ , checked out by…"

"It's not what you think,"Xander insisted.

"You like looking at the semi-nude engravings?"Willow asked.

"Oh, er, I guess it is what you think. "

"If you've quite finished,"Giles cut in from where he was studying one of his books,"we need to come up with a conclusive test. There may be something in here. Yes, this should do it. We need a piece of Amy's hair and some quicksilver and aqua fortis."

"Well, that's just mercury and nitric acid,"Willow observed,"We can get that from the science lab. "

"Heat ingredients and apply to witch. If a spell has been cast in the past 48 hours, witch's skin will turn blue." Giles looked up. "You also need some eye of newt. "

* * *

"Those of you who are in Track One may begin your disection,"announced the science teacher, Doctor Gregory,"Those of you who are in Track Two, carefully pour your hydrochloric acid and your ammonium hydroxide into the beaker like so." He began to pour the two chemicals into a beaker. "Slow, slow, capping one, I'm being safe." There was a small explosion and a discharge of gas. "And you get that. "

Xander and Willow had arranged to be in Track One and Xander had a scalpel poised over a dead frog. He made several attempts to brace himself into cutting it before Willow took the scalpel from him and cut the eye out. "Eye of newt,"she announced, popping it into the solution she'd prepared.

"How's Buffy going with the hair?"Xander asked.

Buffy was already set to provide that. Flicking a pencil around in her hand as naturally as possible, she walked over to Amy's bench. She passed Lishanne, one of the other girls in the class, who grinned at her. "Isn't this exciting?"

"Yeah,"Buffy agreed, before turning to Amy,"Can you tell me which is the hydrochloric acid and which is the ammonium hydroxide?"

Amy looked at her as though she was strange. "Well, the hydrochloric acid is normally in the bottle that has 'Hydrochloric acid' written on it…"

"Read the bottles, good concept." Buffy let go of the pencil, causing it to drop to the floor. "Oops." She bent down to pick it up and took the opportunity to look in Amy's bag. She quickly spied the hairbrush she was after and pulled several strands of hair from it.

Xander and Willow watched her nervously. Buffy straightened up, giving Amy an awkward smile. Something about Amy's expression left her with the worrying feeling their maybe-witch knew exactly what she was up to.

Buffy went over to her friends' bench and handed Willow the strands. Willow mixed the hair into the potion. Xander looked at it with some satisfaction. "Wave 'hi' to the nice little switch. "

Willow poured some of the mixture into a test tube and handed it to Buffy. "Do you have a plan?"

"Spill it on her, try and make it look natural,"Buffy replied.

"We're right behind you,"Xander agreed,"Only further back. "

Buffy headed back over to Amy's bench. She could hear Doctor Gregory at the other end of the room, talking to one of the other students. "Lishanne, can you tell me why the chemicals react in this manner?"

Buffy did her best to affect a stumble and poured the potion over Amy's arm.

Where the potion touched the arm, it turned blue.

Buffy looked Amy in the eye, seeing the flash of anger there. Then the anger turned to horror as her gaze drifted past Buffy.

From behind her, Buffy headed Doctor Gregory's voice. "Lishanne? Oh my god!"

Buffy spun round and looked at Lishanne, who she suddenly recognised as another of the cheerleaders. The girl had jumped to her feet and was making frightened, incoherent noises, waving her arms about wildly. At first Buffy wondered why Lishanne's voice sounded muffled. Then she realised.

Lishanne had no mouth. At all. Just a fold of skin, covering the lower half of her face, preventing her from uttering a word.

* * *

"Did you see Amy?"Xander asked once he, Buffy and Willow managed to find some time alone,"She was as freaked out as the rest of us. "

"So it's not her?"Willow wondered, confused.

"The test was positive,"Buffy argued,"She's our Sabrina. I just don't think she knows what she's doing."

"Do you think we should talk to her?"asked Willow.

"Maybe we should talk to her mother,"Buffy suggested,"I wonder if she knows what she's created. "

* * *

If any of the trio had thought to follow Amy home, they might have seen her stepping in through the door at that moment and stealing a glance around the hallway. "Where are you?"she called out, her manner suddenly altogether more sinister and arrogant than it had been at school.

She heard a scurrying noise as someone moved to turn off the television set and looked contemptuously on the terrified face that had once belonged to the winner of the Cheerleading TriCounty Championship. "Another productive day in front of the television?"she asked mockingly,"I've got a history report due in tomorrow." She dumped her school bag on the floor. "Write it. "

From her pocket, she took a bracelet and twirled it in her hand. "I should be on that team by now. Instead, Miss Buffy and her friends are sneaking around, stealing bits of my hair." She examined the bracelet for a moment, reading the inscription _Yours Always_ , before giving a smirk. "I'll be upstairs. "

Buffy had been so intent on stealing items from her bag to use as ingredients in spells. She hadn't once thought that, in all the commotion, she might do the same.


	4. Episode 1 Chapter 3

**Picked up a follow and favourite, so thank you to that person!**

* * *

CHAPTER THREE

The sunlight was streaming in through Buffy's bedroom window, hurting her eyes. She had the oddest feeling that something had happened to her during the night, that she didn't normally feel like this, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Her alarm clock went off. Buffy slammed a hand down on it to turn the alarm off.

And smashed it to pieces.

"Oops,"she sighed.

* * *

In the kitchen, Joyce was carefully squeezing a set of oranges, making juice, when she heard the sound of Buffy singing as she came downstairs. "Macho, macho man! I wanna be a macho man! Macho, macho man! I wanna be…Oh, juice. "Buffy picked up the first glass Joyce had prepared and drank the contents. "Mmm, quality juice. Not from concentrate."

"You're in a good mood today,"Joyce commented.

"I am,"Buffy agreed,"I'm on the squad, which is great because I feel like cheering and leading others to cheer. Oh, juice!" She grabbed a second glass and drank that too.

Joyce was pleased that Buffy seemed happy but still felt she needed to broach an uncomfortable subject. "Buffy, about yesterday…"

Buffy shook her head. "It's totally yester. I mean, it's not like you were wrong, I did get kicked out of school. I'm just wacky that way."

"Still I just want you to know that, despite the problems you've had, I really…"

"Mum, you just don't get it. And believe me, you don't want to. There are some things about being a vampire slayer that the older generation…"

"What?"Joyce interrupted.

Buffy stopped in midflow, seeming to realise she'd said too much. "It's a long story…"

Joyce was beginning to grow concerned. Buffy being happy was one thing but she seemed a bit too hyper. "Buffy, are you feeling well?"

"What? I'm fine, y'know! I can't be in a good mood?"Buffy asked cheerily,"Is it a new house rule? Well, that's just fine. Fine, fine." She picked up her school bag and headed out the door, singing again. "'Cos I'm a macho, macho man. I wanna be a macho man. Macho, macho man…"

* * *

"Five, six, seven, eight!"Joy counted as she led the cheerleaders in their practise session, arms swinging, pom poms waving, feet pounding. With Buffy doing all three things a lot more enthusiastically and a lot more wildly than anyone else in the squad.

"Turn up the music!"Buffy shouted.

The cheerleaders all took a heavy step to the right, hitting their mark. Except for Buffy, who hit Joy's foot, causing her to give a yelp of pain. "Get it together, Buffy!"she snapped,"We have a game in less than four hours. "

Xander and Willow appeared in the door of the gym. Buffy waved a pompom at them. "Willow! Xander! My buds are here! I love my buds!" She suddenly seemed to be aware everyone was looking at her and hastily went back to the routine.

"Is it me or is Buffy a bit looped?"Xander asked.

Willow could see what he meant. "We've got to get her out of there."

"Yeah,"Xander confirmed,"before she…"At which point, Buffy threw Joy. Straight into a wall. "Hurts someone,"he concluded.

Buffy wandered over to where Joy was lying in a heap. "Did I do that?"she asked in bemusement.

Joy scrambled to her feet, glaring at her. "You are so out of here. "

Xander and Willow came running over. "It's not her fault!"Willow protested.

Although he could see Willow was well-meaning, Xander didn't think telling Joy that Buffy was under a spell would help. "She's on medication."

Joy was unsympathetic. "Well, obviously not enough. Who's our next alternate?" She glanced round and saw Amy, dressed in cheerleader outfit, clearly prepared for this situation. "Amy. You just made cheerleader."

"No, no!"Buffy protested,"You don't want her, she's a w…"

Xander clamped a hand over Buffy's mouth. "A wise choice indeed,"he concluded as he and Willow dragged Buffy away.

* * *

"A witch!"Buffy finished once they were out in the corridor,"A witchy witch! I just got kicked off the team, didn't I?"

"I don't think it was your fault,"Xander told her.

"Of course you don't,"Buffy replied,"Because you're my friend. My Xander-shaped friend! Do you have any idea why I love you so?"

"We gotta get her to a,"Willow tried to say.

Xander waved her back. "Let her speak."

Buffy gazed adoringly at Xander. "I'll tell you. You're not like other boys at all. You are totally and completely one of the girls! I'm that comfortable with you!"

Xander sighed as he and a smirking Willow led Buffy down the corridor. "That's great."

"Any other guys who gave me bracelet, they'd wanna date me and be like a…" Buffy stopped in her tracks. "I don't feel so good. "

"Buffy?"Willow asked anxiously. Buffy fainted.

* * *

"We need to get her to a hospital!"Willow protested. Buffy was sitting propped up in a chair in the library while Giles mopped her brow.

"They can't help her,"Giles replied,"This is a bloodstone vengeance spell. It hits the body like a quart of alcohol and eradicates the immune system."

"A vengeance spell?"Xander repeated,"Like she's trying to get even with Buffy?"

"Because she knows I know she's a witch." Buffy was calmer now, more herself, even though her body seemed to be growing weaker by the second.

"The others she just wanted out of the running,"Giles confirmed,"You she intends to…"

"Kill,"Buffy finished for him.

"How much time do we have?"Willow asked.

Giles looked uncomfortable. "Well, I'm sure that…"

"The truth,"Buffy told him firmly,"Please."

"Couple of hours. Three at most." Giles went back to the table where he'd been consulting books when they came in.

"How do we reverse the spell?"asked Xander.

"I've been researching that,"Giles told them,"And we can reverse all the spells if we can get our hands on Amy's spell book."

"And if we can't get a hold of it?"asked Willow.

"Well, the other way is to chop the witch's head off."

"Show of hands?"Xander suggested bitterly.

"This isn't Amy's fault,"Buffy insisted,"She only became a witch to survive her mother."

"Look, I don't care why,"Xander replied,"I just care that you go on breathing."

Buffy gave him a grateful smile then looked at Giles. "Where would Amy be casting her spells?"

"Well, she needs a sacred place, a pentagram, a pot or cauldron…"

"Her home,"Buffy concluded. She staggered to her feet, Giles taking her arm to support her. "So we just need to go round to Amy's house and find her spell book."

"We'll go with you,"decided Willow.

"No. I need you to stay here and keep an eye on Amy."

"And keep her away from the science lab,"Giles added,"We'll need it for our counter spells."

* * *

Giles parked his car outside Amy's house and helped Buffy to the door, hammering on it hard. Through the glass partition, Buffy caught a glimpse of Catherine Madison. Although she recognised the face, she didn't look like the controlling monster Buffy had imagined or the confident young woman whose photo adorned the trophy cabinet. She seemed nervous, frightened.

Catherine finally opened the door. "Who are you?"she asked, trying to sound confident,"Is there something wrong?"

"We need to talk to you about your daughter,"Giles told her.

"I'm not allow…I mean, you'll have to come back later…Hey!"

Giles had pushed past Catherine and helped Buffy to sit down in the lounge. "Your daughter is meddling with some dark forces, are you aware of that?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, I think you know only too well. "

Catherine glanced around nervously, finding it harder and harder to maintain the illusion of being in control of the situation. "You've got to go, she'll be home soon and you…"

"This girl is very sick!"Giles protested,"Now you will shut up and you will listen to me. Your daughter has access to some very powerful magic and somehow your obsession with cheerleading has made…"

"I don't care about cheerleading!"Catherine screamed in protest,"It's not my fault she's doing stuff. "

"As her mother, you have to assume some responsibility for her actions!"

Catherine let out a hysterical laugh before trying to appear casual. "Well, you know, these kids today…"

Buffy glanced down at the floor, at the plate of food Catherine had put down when they arrived. Brownies?

Catherine's mask suddenly dropped completely, all deception gone. "She's out of her mind,"she whispered,"Ever since Dad…since her dad left, I can't control her. "

"You're afraid of her?"Giles asked.

"Amy?" Buffy staggered to her feet and came over to them. "Are you Amy?" She looked at Catherine with sudden sympathy and understanding. "She switched you, didn't she? She switched your bodies. "

Giles looked at her in confusion. "I don't understand…" Then he looked at Catherine, really looked at her, for the first time. He looked at her eyes. They weren't the eyes of an adult. They were the eyes of a scared teenage girl, trapped in someone else's body. "Good grief,"he murmured.

"She wanted to relive her glory days,"Buffy realised.

"She said I was wasting my youth,"confirmed Amy,"So she took it. "


	5. Episode 1 Chapter 4

**I seem to have picked up another follow so thank you to that person!**

* * *

CHAPTER FOUR

Once Buffy and Giles had taken in what the true situation was, Amy had become quite comfortable talking to them. "I had no idea about her powers,"she told them,"When my dad was here and they were fighting, he used to call her a witch but I just thought he meant…When he left, I so wanted to go with him but she wouldn't even let me call. She just went crazy, she locked herself away upstairs for days. She came down really hard on me, telling me I didn't deserve to have it so easy, that I didn't know how hard it was to be her. Guess she showed me, huh?"

Buffy took the other girl's hand. It was surprising how quickly she'd come to accept that the woman sitting in front of her was actually a girl her own age. Being on the Hellmouth did that to you. "Amy, it's going to be okay,"she said reassuringly.

"A few months ago I woke up in her bed. I didn't know where I was at first, then I looked in the mirror…" Amy gave a sob of fright at the memory.

Giles had picked up on one of the details of her story. "She locked herself away upstairs? Where?"

* * *

Amy led Giles upstairs to the attic. She unlocked the door and he made to move past her. She grabbed his arm frantically. "Don't! She'll kill me if she knew I'd been here."

Giles placed a comforting hand on her arm before leading the way into the attic. He saw the dolls hanging from the ceiling, reinforcing all of Catherine's spells: The two dolls tied together, the ones with eyes and mouths covered. "My god,"he whispered in shock before managing to compose himself. "We should be able to reverse your mother's spell with this. All of them, in fact. "

There was hope in Amy's eyes, probably for the first time in weeks. "You could? Really, you could?"

"We need to find her books. There'd be a specific volume she'd need for this kind of casting." He bent down by a promising look trunk. "Collect the dolls and any other personal effects…" He opened up the chest and a black cat sprang out, just missing him, before scampering away into a corner. Giles gave a gasp of fright. "Nice kitty?"he ventured. The cat didn't seem interested in him, which was a relief in the circumstances. He looked into the chest. "Let's see what you're guarding. Ah, yes." He took out an old tome. "Yes, this is it. "

* * *

"Did you find it?"Buffy asked as Giles and Amy came hurrying down the stairs.

"We found it,"Giles confirmed. He looked at Buffy, too weak to even walk now, and scooped her up into his arms.

"Where are you going?"Amy asked.

"To the school,"Giles replied,"And you're coming with us."

Amy hesitated for a moment then followed him out to the car.

* * *

The players were out on the court, warming up. The two sides' cheerleaders were by the side, in front of the spectators, stirring them up into a frenzy. Xander and Willow sat with the other spectators but they weren't there to watch the game. They were there to watch a witch.

In the middle of the cheerleaders, with a triumphant, joyous smile on her face, was Catherine Madison. Sixteen years old, a cheerleader. Revelling in her stolen youth.

* * *

Giles gently laid Buffy down on one of the tables in the science lab, feeling her brow. "I'm gonna stop this,"he whispered,"I promise. You just hang on."

"How is she?"asked Amy, who was busy setting out the ingredients for the counter spells as he'd directed.

"We only have a few minutes left. "

* * *

"Go, Sunnydale, go! Go, Sunnydale, go! Go, team, go!"

Catherine joined in the chant with the others. She knew Xander and Willow were still watching her but they still thought she was Amy. And Amy, she knew, was far away.

* * *

Amy grimaced as she cut the eye out of one of the toads Giles had found in the cupboard before handing it to him. "Right, here we go,"he breathed, shooting a worried look at Buffy before beginning the spell,"The centre is dark. Centrum est obscurus. The darkness breathes. Tenebrae respiratis. The listener hears." His voice became ever more urgent. "Hear me!"

* * *

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight!"the cheerleaders chanted. Catherine faltered, feeling dizzy. Her vision blurred for a moment and she seemed to be somewhere else. A science lab, looking at a list of instructions? What would she be doing in a science lab?

She shook her head, clearing it, and carried on with the chant.

* * *

Amy saw the school gym, the game, the cheerleaders. "It's working,"she gasped.

Giles tried his best to ignore her, to continue the spell. "Unlock the gate, let the darkness shine. Cover us with holy fear. Show me!"

The lights went out.

* * *

The other cheerleaders hoisted Catherine up onto their shoulders. She raised her arms triumphantly, taking in the roar of the crowd, her victory. Then the flashes came again. She could see that science lab, the school science lab. With…Buffy lying on a table?

She couldn't keep her balance and neither could anyone else. She toppled from the pyramid, bringing the others down with her, leaving the whole squad lying in a jumble on the floor.

Joy glared at her. "Amy, what's your problem?"

The look of hatred that Catherine shot her was so pure that Joy shrank back from it. Catherine scrambled to her feet and marched off the court, filled with a new purpose.

* * *

Amy saw through Catherine's eyes, saw her leave the gym and felt a sudden stab of fear. "She's coming!"

* * *

Catherine found her way down the corridor blocked by Willow. "Amy,"she greeted her.

"Get out of my way,"Catherine snapped.

"No, wait, I need to talk to you, I can help you. "

Catherine found herself amused in spite of things. "Help me with what?"

"Well, with your witchcraft. I've got this really great cauldron you could borrow. Do you actually ride a broom?"

Catherine sensed Xander sneaking up behind her and spun round, hand outstretched. Xander felt a sudden grip around his throat, even though Catherine's hand was several inches away. He struggled for breath then found himself thrown against the wall. He slumped down, unconscious.

"Xander!"Willow cried in horror, starting forward.

Catherine smashed her elbow hard into Willow's face, knocking her out.

* * *

Amy saw the brief struggle in horror but she was too scared to risk interrupting Giles.

Giles continued his chanting. "Corsheth and Gilail! The gate is closed. Receive the dark. Release the unworthy. Take of my energy and be sated."

* * *

Catherine stalked down the corridor towards the lab. She tried the door. Locked.

* * *

"…be sated. Release the unworthy,"Giles persisted.

* * *

Catherine saw a fire axe mounted on the wall. She smashed the glass case, taking out the axe, and attacked the door with it.

* * *

"Release!"Giles continued

There was a series of crashes at the door as Catherine burst in, axe raised. "Release!"shouted Giles, ignoring her.

Catherine saw Buffy on the table and stalked towards her, axe poised to strike.

"Release!"Giles screamed.

There was a burst of magical energy and suddenly Amy found herself standing over Buffy with an axe. Buffy slowly opened her eyes. "Buffy?"Amy asked worriedly.

"Amy?"Buffy asked uncertainly.

Which was when Catherine Madison, back in her own body, leapt on Buffy, hurling her to the ground. Giles took a step towards her but with a wave of her hand, the bench slammed into him, pinning him to the wall. She spun round and looked at Amy with pure hatred. "You little brat,"she snarled.

Amy clutched the axe, unsure what she was planning to do with it. "Mum, please,"she begged.

The question was answered for her. Catherine held out a hand and the axe flew from Amy's hand to hers. "You dare to raise your hand to me?"she snarled,"I gave birth to you! I gave up my life so you could haul that worthless carcass around and call it living. You've never been anything but trouble. I'm going to put you where you can't make trouble again!"

Behind Catherine, Buffy got to her feet. "Guess what?" Catherine turned and looked at her in bemusement. "I feel better. "

Buffy's punch sent Catherine flying into the wall. Catherine staggered to her feet. "That body was mine!" she screeched,"Mine!"

"Oh, grow up!"Buffy sighed.

Catherine gestured at Buffy and sent her flying back into the far wall. Catherine looked hard at her, all attention focused on Buffy. "I shall look upon my enemy…" Magic lights began to surround her, forming an aura.

Buffy looked around, trying to find some advantage.

"I shall look upon her and the dark place will have her soul! Corsheth, take her!"

Buffy waited until the burst of energy shot towards her and then kicked away the support from the mirror above her, causing it to drop down between her and Catherine. The magics struck the mirror and reflected back, striking Catherine. She screamed in pain and horror as they surrounded her. And then she was gone, vanished as though she had never been there.

Buffy and Amy stood stock still, breathing hard. Giles staggered to his feet. "That was…interesting. "

Buffy smiled at the typical Giles reserve. "You guys okay?"

"I'm fine!"Amy assured her, relieved her ordeal was finally over.

"I assume all the spells are now reversed,"Giles observed,"It was my first casting so…I may have got it wrong. "

"Giles, you saved my life,"Buffy told him sincerely,"You were a god!"

"I certainly didn't think you'd pull it off,"Amy admitted.

Suddenly, Xander came rushing through the door and grabbed hold of Amy. "Quick, I've got her, I've got her, cut her head off!"

He was surprised when, instead of rushing to his aid, Buffy and Giles just stared at him. "What are you doing?"Buffy asked.

Xander looked confused. "Saving you?"

"Get your hands off her,"Buffy told him, like she was trying to talk down a crazy person.

Xander didn't release his bear hug. "But she's evil!"he protested, looking at Amy, who wasn't looking at all evil and instead seemed to have the same expression that Buffy and Giles did.

"It wasn't exactly her,"Giles explained.

"I was my mother,"Amy added.

"Oh. "Xander released his grip on Amy. It made as much sense as anything else.

Willow came rushing in through the other door, wielding a baseball bat. "Where is she?"she snarled.

Xander waved her down. "Willow, it's cool. "

Willow looked at the tableau before her uncertainly. "It is?"

"Yeah,"Xander confirmed,"I took care of it. "

* * *

"I don't get it,"Joyce announced as she suddenly appeared in Buffy's doorway.

Buffy paused in packing her school bag and looked at her. "Get what?"

"I've been doing a lot of thinking, about where you're coming from, how to relate to you and I've come to one simple conclusion: I don't get it. "

"I'm inscrutable, huh?"

"I think it's because you're sixteen and I think there's a biological imperative whereby I can't understand you because I'm not sixteen. "

Buffy looked hard at Joyce, her recent experience with Catherine Madison weighing heavy on her mind. "Do you ever wish you could be sixteen again?"

Joyce let out a long breath and sat down on the bed. "Oh, that's a frightful notion. Go through all that again? Not even if it helped me."

Buffy smiled. "I love you, Mum." She kissed her mother on the cheek before heading off to school.

Joyce was left sitting alone on the bed. "I don't get it,"she said again.

* * *

"My dad is so impossible,"Amy revealed as she and Buffy walked down the corridor together,"He doesn't even want me going anywhere. He wants to spend total quality time together. And I'm like 'Dad, I can go out. It's perfectly safe.' But he's got all this guilt about leaving me with my mum. And he's being a total pain."

"You're loving it,"Buffy realised.

"Every single night,"Amy confirmed,"This Saturday night, he wants to stay in and make brownies. Well, the brownies were my idea…"

Cordelia walked past them in full cheerleader outfit, a gaggle of giggling friends in her wake. "So sorry you two got bumped back to being alternates. No, wait, I'm really not."

Amy looked at her, completely unfazed. "Well, I certainly miss the intellectual thrill of spelling out words with my arms."

Cordelia raised an eyebrow. "Wow, those grapes are sour,"she declared before sweeping away.

As soon as they were out of sight, Amy looked at Buffy and her hand flew to her mouth. "Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot you wanted to be on the squad."

"That's okay,"Buffy assured her,"Cheerleading's a bit too hairy for me these days. "

"That's for sure,"Amy agreed. They paused by the trophy cabinet, looking at the photo of a young woman having the time of her life, a woman whose future had promised so much, if she'd only managed to let go of her past. "Catherine the Great."

"There's been no sign of her?"Buffy asked.

Amy shook her head. "That last spell…She said I'd never make trouble again. Wherever she's gone, I don't think we'll have to worry."

Buffy looked hard at the cheerleading trophy, Catherine's legacy. "Twisted,"she declared.

The two girls turned their back on the cabinet and headed off down the corridor. "I'm just glad to get my body back,"Amy observed,"I'm thinking of getting fat again. "

"I hear that look's in for spring,"Buffy agreed.

* * *

If Buffy had looked a bit harder at the trophy, she might have seen the eyes, the human eyes, flicking about, a look of sheer terror in them. If she'd strained her ears, she might have heard a faint, muffled voice making an incoherent sound of desperation, similar to that Lishanne had made when she'd fallen victim to Catherine's spells.

Inside the trophy that she'd placed so much value in, the conscious mind of Catherine Madison wished desperately for someone to see and hear her, to know where she'd gone and free her from the living hell she'd trapped herself in.

No-one ever would.


	6. Episode 2 Prologue

EPISODE TWO: The Dark Age

PROLOGUE

Philip Henry quickened his pace as he passed the sign that read Sunnydale High. There had been no-one at the address he'd been given so this was his next port of call. He had to see him, to warn him, to get help…

"Can I help you?"asked the custodian who was emptying bins nearby.

Philip turned to him. Perhaps he could help. "Rupert Giles. I need to see him."

The custodian seemed taken aback by the question. "Mr. Giles…he's our librarian. Next building along, first door on the left." Philip immediately headed off in the direction indicated. "You're welcome!"the custodian called after him sarcastically.

But Philip had no time for politeness. He had heard stories about Giles, about what he was now. Maybe he could help him. They were all in danger now.

The building was in sight when Philip froze, some sixth sense telling him something was wrong. He turned around and saw a woman standing in the shadows. "Oh god,"he murmured. It had come for him. The woman stepped out of the shadows. She was dead, her skin decaying. And yet she was still upright, still dangerous, her eyes glowing with the power of the thing that possessed her. Worse, he knew her, as he knew he would. "Deirdre?"

Deirdre smiled a malicious smile. "Philip. "

He ran for the door but it was locked. He hammered on it. "Help! Help! Somebody, please!" But there was no answer. It suddenly occurred to him that Giles might not even be there. "God, no! Help!"

* * *

In fact, Giles was in the library but there was a good reason why he hadn't heard Philip's banging. He was in the middle of a training session with Buffy. Buffy was currently doing her aerobics, jumping on and off a box. And there was… _something_ playing from her stereo as she did so.

"Must we have this noise during your callisthenics?"Giles complained, shouting above the noise as he did so.

"It's not noise,"Buffy corrected in between jumps,"It's music."

"I know music,"Giles snapped,"Music has notes. This is noise."

"I'm aerobising! I must have a beat!"

Giles gave up. "Wonderful. You work on your muscle tone while my brain dribbles out of my ears."

* * *

"Help me, somebody, please!"Philip shouted.

Deirdre grabbed him and pulled him away from the door, her strength far superior to a human's. She grabbed him around the throat and began throttling him.

* * *

At that moment, right when there was no longer anything to hear, Buffy finished her session and turned off the music. Giles breathed a sigh of relief. "Very good. And the rest is silence."

* * *

Deirdre dropped Philip's dead body to the floor. Then, she collapsed next to him. Her body dissolved into green goo…which then swirled around Philip.


	7. Episode 2 Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

The images came thick and fast. People, people he hadn't seen in a long time. Ceremonies. The haunting voice: "Time to go to sleep." And that tattoo, the curved black symbol that had damned them all.

Giles woke up, his mind haunted with memories he'd tried to keep buried for twenty years.

* * *

Buffy considered her answer carefully. "I'm on a beach, but not an American beach, one of those island beaches where the water's way too blue. I'm laying on my towel and it's just before sunset and Gavin Rossdale is massaging my feet."

"Oh that's good,"Willow gushed. She took a deep breath. "I'm in Florence, Italy. I've rented a scooter which is parked outside and I'm in a little restaurant eating ziti. And there are no other tables so they have to sit this guy with me and it's John Cusack."

"Very impressive,"Buffy complimented,"You have such an eye for detail."

Willow nodded enthusiastically. "'Cos with the ziti."

"What are you two doing?"Xander asked, as he joined them in the school yard.

"Just playing a quick game of Anywhere But Here,"Buffy told him.

"Ah." Xander nodded approvingly. "Amy Yip at the water slide park."

"You never come up with anything new,"Willow noted, amused.

"I'm just not fickle like you two, okay? I'm constant with my affections. Amy Yip. At the water slide park."

Willow glanced across the yard to where Giles was talking with a student. "Do you think Giles ever played Anywhere But Here when he was at school?"

"Giles lived for school,"Xander replied,"He's still bitter that there were only twelve grades.

Buffy nodded in agreement. "He probably sat in maths thinking 'There should be more math. This could be mathier.'"

"C'mon, you don't think he ever got restless as a kid?"Willow persisted.

"Are you kidding?"Buffy retorted,"His diapers were tweed." She noticed Giles had finished his conversation. "Hi, Giles!"

"Hmm?" It took Giles a moment to realise who had called to him and come over. "There you are. "

"Is that tweed?"Buffy asked, looking at his outfit knowingly.

"What? Oh. Yes." For a moment, Buffy thought there was something wrong. Giles being confused by what she said to him was nothing new but there seemed to be another level here, as if he wasn't quite with them. But then he went on. "Now, look, tonight is very important…"

Buffy sighed. "Now that's a surprise." She led the way into school. "So what's on tap tonight that's so important? Uprising? Prophesised ritual? Preordained deathfest?"

"Ah, the old standards,"Xander mused.

"A medical transport is delivering the monthly supply of blood to the hospital,"Giles explained.

Buffy understood the implication. "Meals on wheels for vampires."

"Hopefully not. I'll meet you at the hospital at eight sharp. I'll bring the weapons."

"I'll bring the party mix,"Buffy quipped as she stopped by her locker.

Giles seemed to consider a response then decide against it. "Just don't be late."

"Have I ever let you down?"Buffy returned.

Giles stared hard at her. "Do you want me to answer that or should I just glare?"

"Morning, England,"a cheery young woman remarked as she approached them. Jenny Calendar was the school's computer teacher. Less well known was the fact that she was a techno-pagan, well aware of the demons and vampires that threatened Sunnydale. It had made her a useful ally on occasion and somehow that had led to her intermittently dating Giles.

"Good morning, Miss, er, Jenny,"Giles responded.

"Feel the passion,"Willow muttered under her breath.

Jenny gave her a mild look. "Willow."

Willow gave an exaggerated cough. "Just coughing, not talking "

"You still on for tomorrow?"

"What's happening tomorrow?"Xander asked.

"I'm reviewing computer basics for a couple of students who have fallen behind,"Jenny explained, "Willow's helping me out for extra credit. "

Xander laughed. "Those poor schlubs, having to come in to school on Saturday."

Jenny's expression was stony. "9am okay for you, Xander?"

Buffy gave Xander an amused look. "I think you've got a bit of schlub on your shoe."

"Cordelia's meeting us there,"Jenny offered.

Xander rolled his eyes. "Ooh, gang, did you hear that? A bonus day of school plus Cordelia. Throw in a bit of rectal surgery and it's my best day ever!"

Jenny turned her attention to Giles. "Walk me to class?" Giles nodded in agreement and fell into step with her.

"Aww, look at them,"Buffy remarked as the pair walked away.

"A twosome of cuteness,"Xander agreed.

"Can't you just imagine them getting together?"Willow gushed.

They did. Then they tried to think about something else.

* * *

"Thank you for lending me the Forrester book,"Jenny noted as they approached her classroom,"It's wonderful. "

"I'm glad you enjoyed it,"Giles answered.

"It was so romantic, so evocative."

"That edition was my father's. I must've read it twenty times."

"You know how you dog ear your favourite pages so you can go back to them?"

Giles froze. "What?"

"Well, I pretty much had to fold back every single page so finally I just started underlining the pages I really wanted to discuss…"

Giles' sense of horror was mounting. "U-underlined?"

"…and then I split coffee all over it so now I can't even read it!"

Giles was as close to apoplectic as he had ever got around her. "It was a first edition,"he thundered.

"I'm lying, Rupert. Your book's fine." Jenny produced it from her bag and handed it to him. "I just wanted to see you squirm."

Giles suspected that good form at this point would be to laugh and appreciate the joke that had been played on him. But Jenny knew how important his books were to him, despite her insistence that she could get the same information from her computers. "I trust I gave good…squirm,"he responded coldly.

Jenny smiled at him. "Anyone ever tell you you're kind of a fuddy duddy?"

Giles sighed. "No-one ever seems to tell me anything else."

"Anyone ever tell you you're a sexy fuddy duddy?"

"No, that part usually gets left out. I can't imagine why."

"This weekend."

Giles struggled to follow the non-sequitur. "Would you like to go out?"

"No, I'd like to stay in."

Giles stared at her, waiting for her to tell him she was joking. Then he realised she wasn't. He leaned in to kiss her, just as the bell rang. Their lips met but the kiss was cut short by the corridor filling with students. Giles reluctantly pulled back. "This Saturday then?"he remarked casually.

"Saturday night,"Jenny confirmed. She smiled mischievously. "I'll see if I can make you squirm."

* * *

Giles was in a good mood as he arrived at the library, the memories of his disturbing dream the previous night fading. But his good mood evaporated when he found three people waiting for him there. A smartly-dressed woman and two uniformed police officers. "Rupert Giles?"the woman asked.

Giles stared at her cautiously. "Yes?"

The woman flashed a police badge. "Detective Winslow. You're going to have to come with me."

Giles remained cautious. "Why?"

"There was a homicide on the campus last night. The victim had no identification but he was carrying a slip of paper with your name and address on him." She held up an evidence bag.

Giles stepped forward to examine it. "My name?"

At that moment, Cordelia came barging through the door. "Well, evil just compounds evil, doesn't it?"she complained,"First I have an extra computer tutorial on Saturday. Now I have to read some computer book. There are books about computers? Aren't computers supposed to replace books?"

Giles sighed. Since Cordelia had found out the truth about vampires and Buffy's status as the Slayer, she had proved of help on occasions. This, however, was not one of those occasions. "I'm a bit busy at the moment. "

Cordelia noticed the police officers and smiled. "Oh, great! You can help me out with my ticket. It's totally bogus. It was a one way street, I was only going one way…"

Winslow's expression was stony. "I'm with Homicide. I don't do parking tickets."

Giles had less patience. "Cordelia!"he snapped.

Cordelia turned to him, looking put out. "What? Why does everyone always yell my name? I'm not deaf! And I can take a hint!" She paused, confused. "What's the hint?"

"That you should come back later,"Giles told her testily.

"Yeah, when you've visited decaf land." Cordelia exited the way she had come.

Giles turned back to the police officers. "Where do you want me to go?"

* * *

Where they wanted him to go was, perhaps inevitably, the morgue. He and Winslow stood either side of one of the slots as the attendant pulled the tray out. "You have your breakfast?"

"Er, no,"Giles answered, his concentration fully focused on the tray rather than morgue humour.

"That's probably just as well." The attendant pulled back the sheets to reveal Philip's body.

"Do you know him?"asked Winslow.

"Yes,"Giles confirmed,"I mean, I did. His name's Philip Henry. He was a friend in London. I haven't seen him in over twenty years."

"Can you think of any reason why he might've wanted to contact you?"

"No,"Giles said quietly. But his gaze drifted down to the tattoo on Philip's arm, the tattoo from his dream. The Mark of Eyghon.

"Do you know what this is?"Winslow pressed,"The tattoo?"

Giles met her gaze. "No. No, I don't."

* * *

Buffy stood in the shadows outside the hospital, watching the entrance…alone. "Don't be late,"she complained,"Sheesh." She saw the medical transport approaching. If anything happened now, she'd have to deal with it on her own…and without the extra weapons Giles was meant to be bringing. Then she saw two men in scrubs exit the building.

The delivery driver greeted them cheerily as he lifted the box of blood bags out of the back of the transport. "Hey, fellas."

Buffy began to breathe easily. "All's well that ends with cute ER doctors I always say." Then a worrying thought occurred to her. "Since when do doctors take deliveries?"

The delivery man seemed to see nothing wrong with this. He drove off, leaving the box with the two doctors. At that point, a car in the car park turned on its lights and drove over to where the two doctors were waiting. The driver was a vampire…as were the two doctors. One of them took out one of the bags and ripped it open with his teeth. "Hey!"the driver snapped,"No sampling the product."

The vampire doctor looked at him mutinously, then replaced the bag. It was now or never. Buffy broke cover, charging at the three vampires. She kicked each of them to the ground in turn, but by the time she'd finished the first one was on his feet again. With a snarl, he lifted her up and threw her onto the bonnet of the car. Buffy jumped to her feet then saw a fourth figure charging in. She turned to face him, suspecting another vampire.

He was, but not an opponent. Angel, the vampire with a soul…and her boyfriend. Since cursed by gypsies, forcing him to feel the guilt of the many deaths he'd caused, he'd fought alongside her. "Angel!"she exclaimed.

"Buffy, look out!"was his greeting, as he dived past her at the vampire driver.

Buffy understood. She jumped down, knocking one of the vampire doctors to the ground, and quickly dusted him. A few more blows and the other one followed suit.

The driver seemed to realise he was on the losing side. Pushing Angel aside, he jumped back into the car and drove off. Angel followed for a few steps, but even a vampire couldn't outrun a car.

"How did you know about this?"Buffy asked.

Angel shrugged. "It's delivery day, everyone knows." He stooped by the abandoned box of blood bags. "They only ruined one."

"Do you think you could make sure the hospital gets the rest?" Buffy couldn't help feeling suspicious. Angel had told her he hadn't fed on a living human since getting his soul but she wasn't sure how he felt about human blood that was no longer in a body. He nodded, seeming hurt that she'd doubted him. "Thanks. I need to check on Giles, he was supposed to meet me here."

"Maybe he's just running late,"Angel suggested.

"Giles?"Buffy asked,"He considers tardiness the eighth deadly sin."

Angel nodded. "You're right. Go."

* * *

Buffy approached Giles' apartment with a certain amount of trepidation, wondering what could have happened to keep him away. She knocked and a moment later, he opened the door. He looked like hell. Not injured or anything demonic, but dishevelled…and she thought she smelt alcohol on his breath.

"Buffy." He stared at her in confusion. "It's late. Are you all right?"

"I was gonna ask you the same thing. "

"Yes, I'm fine, fine. Look, I'm rather busy at the moment so I'll see you on Monday at school." He made to close the door.

Buffy stopped him. "Giles, did you forget?" His expression didn't change so Buffy went on. "Hospital, vampires, handy carry-out packets of blood?"

"Oh!" His eyes lit up and to her astonishment Buffy realised that he had forgotten. "Are you all right, are you hurt?"

"No. I mean, my feelings a little,"Buffy complained,"What's wrong?"

Giles tried to look and sound firm. "Nothing's wrong. I'm just in the middle of something extremely important. I'm sorry but I'm going to have to say good night now." He shut the door in her face.

Buffy stared at it, not quite able to believe that that had just happened.

* * *

Once Buffy was gone, Giles turned his attention back to the phone calls he'd been making. He dialled the next number and waited until he received an answer. He had to try and contact them, warn them if possible. He heard a voice on the other end. "I'm sorry to disturb you, I know its five in the morning over there. I'm trying to reach Deirdre Page. My name's Rupert Giles, she knows me. It's very important." He listened to the response and froze. "I'm terribly sorry, I had no idea. When did she pass away?" The answer gave him no doubt that his worst fears had been realised. "That recently? Yes, we were friends when we were young. My condolences. "

Giles replaced the receiver and crossed another item off the list in front of him. Three names had been crossed off: Thomas Sutcliffe, Philip Henry and Deirdre Page. Only two remained: Ethan Rayne and Rupert Giles.

Giles rolled up his sleeve and looked at his tattoo of the Mark of Eyghon. "So. You're back."

* * *

In the morgue, the dead body of Philip Henry sat up straight and his eyes glowed.


	8. Episode 2 Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

It was next morning when the morgue attendant was doing his rounds. Checking the bodies was normally without incident and this time was no exception…until he reached the drawer that should have contained Philip Henry. It was empty. Moments later, someone behind him threw a sheet over his head. He would have been even more shocked if he could have seen who it was: The missing body.

Philip bundled him into the vacated drawer, slammed the door shut and locked it. Then he staggered from the mortuary.

* * *

"This is all wrong,"Cordelia complained as she followed Willow, Xander and Jenny down the hallway,"School on a Saturday. It really throws off my internal clock."

"Yeah, when are we going to use computers for real life anyway?"Xander agreed.

"Hmm, let's see,"Jenny mused,"Home, school, work, games."

Xander was not to be thrown off. "You know, computers are on the way out. I think paper's going to make a big comeback."

"And the abacus,"Willow added sarcastically.

"Yeah, you don't see enough abaci."

They headed into the classroom and took their seats. "Right,"Jenny told them,"the first thing I want you to do is…" She stopped at another, unexpected, arrival. "Buffy!"

Xander, who had been staring at his computer screen, looked up in confusion. "Huh? Did I fall asleep already?"

"Aww, you missed your friends!"Willow decided.

Xander liked that idea as well. "Hey, Buffy, come and sit next to me. You can demilitarise the zone between me and Cordelia."

"Yeah and delouse you at the same time,"Cordelia bit back.

Buffy hadn't looked at any of them. Instead, her attention was focused on Jenny. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you for a second."

Jenny sensed her concern and instantly shared it. "Something wrong?"

"Is there some crisis that requires instant action?"Xander enquired hopefully,"Very far from here?"

Again, it was only Jenny that Buffy responded to. "It's Giles."

"Is he all right?"

"I don't know. He didn't show up last night and when I went round his, he was acting very…anti-Giles. He wouldn't let me in and he looked really bad. I think he might've been…" Buffy paused, as though she couldn't quite believe it herself. "I think he was drinking."

Jenny was shocked. "He was home alone drinking?"

"But tea, right?"Willow checked.

Sometimes Willow's refusal to grasp the point could be wearing. "It wasn't tea, Willow,"Buffy told her as gently as possible.

"Yep, yep, I knew this would happen,"Xander said triumphantly,"No-one can be wound as straight and narrow as Giles without a dark side etrupting. My Uncle Rory was the stodgiest taxidermist you've ever met by day. By night, it was booze, whores and fur flying. Were there whores?"

Buffy was in even less of a mood for Xander's humour than for Willow's innocence. "He was alone,"she said firmly.

Again, Xander refused to drop it. "Give it time. "

Buffy gave up and looked around the group. "So none of you guys have noticed anything different lately?"

"No,"Willow insisted.

"Not really,"Jenny echoed.

"You haven't seen anything weird?"Buffy persisted.

"Nope,"Xander answered.

"No, he seemed perfectly normal yesterday when I saw him talking to the police,"Cordelia chimed in.

Everyone stared at her. "And you wait until now to tell us this because..?"Buffy asked.

"I didn't think it was important,"Cordelia protested.

"We understand,"Xander sighed,"It wasn't about you."

"What were they talking to him about?"Jenny asked.

"Oh, don't tell me, I know this." Cordelia thought hard. "Something about a homicide."

"That does it,"Buffy decided,"I'm going to call him."

* * *

Buffy headed straight for the library. Somehow it felt right to call Giles from the place that was a second home to him. She was about to reach for the phone behind the counter when some sixth sense caused her to turn round. She saw a shadow flitter across the upper level of the library. Someone was up there.

The most likely explanation was that it was Giles and if she called out he'd answer. But somehow Buffy knew it wasn't going to be that simple. She crept up the stairs and moved between the shelves, looking closely about her. She only caught a glimpse of Ethan Rayne standing on the other side of a bookcase…just before he pushed it over towards her.

Buffy dived out of the way, then was up before Ethan could react, grabbing his arm and twisting it behind his back. She turned him round to face her and then recognition dawned. "I know you! You run that costume shop."

"I'm pleased you remember me."

"You sold me that Halloween dress and nearly got us all killed,"Buffy persisted.

Ethan looked unrepentant. "But you looked great."

Buffy punched him.

Ethan sighed. "I take it we're even?"

"I'll let you know when we're even,"Buffy replied,"What are you doing here?"

"Snooping about."

Buffy raised an eyebrow. "Honesty. Nice touch."

Ethan smiled. "It's one of my virtues." He paused. "Not really. "

Buffy wasn't in the mood for game playing either. "I've got a great idea: Why don't I just call the police and have you arrested for breaking and entering, then I can get back to my fun Saturday?"

"Ah, the police,"Ethan mused,"Well, they'll have a lot of questions and they'll really need Rupert to answer them all."

Buffy stopped. In truth, she didn't know much about her last run-in with Ethan. His spell had left her with the persona of the 18th century noblewoman she had dressed as, leaving her an easy target for any vampire looking to get rid of the Slayer. Willow had told her a little about when she and Giles had tracked Ethan down. It had seemed like Giles had known him. He'd never told them how he broke the spell and didn't seem to want to discuss it. Buffy had a sudden uneasy feeling she should have pushed the point. "You know Giles?"

Ethan smiled. "Oh, we go back. Way back. You don't happen to know where he is, do you?"

* * *

Giles' sleeping mind was again assaulted with images. Images of rituals and tattoos and a phone ringing…Then he realised the latter wasn't a part of the dream. He had fallen asleep at his desk and the phone was ringing next to him. He picked it up. "Hello."

" _Giles, it's me_ ,"came a familiar voice.

Giles sighed. "Buffy, unless this is an emergency, I'll see you on Monday."

He was about to put the phone down but Buffy's next words turned him cold. " _What's the Mark of Eyghon?_ " She paused, waiting for him to answer. " _Giles?_ "

Standing next to Buffy at the library counter, Ethan smirked. "Cat got his tongue?"

" _Giles, I'm in your office with someone who claims to be an old friend of yours_ ,"Buffy persisted, " _Ethan Rayne?_ "

Giles' fears were only increasing. "He's there with you now? Buffy, listen to me, you're in danger so long as you're with Ethan. I need you to put down the phone and get out of the library as soon as possible."

Unfortunately, Buffy had never been one to obey orders blindly. " _I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on._ "

Then there was the sound of breaking glass. "Buffy?"Giles asked but she had put the phone down. He tried to replace the phone in the cradle, missed and left it on the desk as he dashed out the door.

* * *

The noise had come from the library office: The sound of someone breaking in through the window. Buffy vaulted over the library counter, Ethan taking the long way round. Xander, Cordelia, Willow and Jenny, obviously attracted by the sound of breaking glass, came hurrying in.

Philip came staggering out of the office. Buffy blocked his path but his intention was focused past her. "Ethan!"he snarled.

That was enough to have Ethan running for the door. "Don't let him get away!"Buffy snapped. Xander grabbed hold of Ethan but he managed to wriggle free…only for Cordelia to kick him in the groin as he ran past her. He ended up in a wimpering heap on the floor.

Philip swung punches at Buffy, which she dodged. She backed away towards the library cage. Philip charged and Buffy leapt aside. Philip crashed through the open cage door and Buffy slammed it shut and locked it.

* * *

Once Ethan was vaguely sensible again, he was sat in a chair with Buffy standing close by. Philip prowled around the inside of the cage. Willow looked at him. "I'm not getting close enough to check for a pulse but he looks dead."

"Except for the walking and attacking Buffy part,"Xander pointed out.

"Oh no, he's dead,"Ethan confirmed,"Sorry, Philip. I really am."

At that moment, Giles came rushing in. "Is everyone all right?"

"Super! I kicked a guy,"Cordelia supplied.

"We're okay,"Jenny assured him.

"Dead guy here interrupted our tutorial,"Xander explained. He leaned in to the cage where Philip was held. "I've been meaning to thank you for that, by the way." Philip clattered against the cage, snarling, and Xander backed off.

Giles stared at the animated corpse of his old friend in horror. "It can't be. "

"Oh yes, it can,"Ethan replied,"Hello, Ripper."

Giles turned on him in fury. "I told you to leave town."

"You did, I didn't. Shop lease is paid till the end of the month."

"Why did he call him Ripper?"Cordelia wondered to no-one in particular.

Giles grabbed Ethan by the hair and dragged him to his feet. "You should have left when I told you."

" _Oh_ ,"Cordelia noted in realisation.

"Giles!"Buffy protested but Giles was in no mood to be chastised.

"You are putting these people in danger, people I care about."

Ethan pulled free from Giles' grip. "If you care so much about them, why didn't _you_ leave town? You've been having the dreams. I know. I have. We both know what's coming."

"What dreams?"Buffy demanded,"What's going on?"

"Tell her, Ripper,"Ethan suggested smugly.

It wasn't clear if Giles was going to answer, but ultimately he didn't get a chance. At that moment, Philip burst out of the cage. Jenny was in the path of the door: It hit her and sent her flying. "Jenny!" Giles shouted, rushing to her side.

Buffy kicked Philip away but there was no lengthy fight this time. Philip started convulsing, then collapsed. As with Deirdre earlier, he dissolved into goo.

"That's something you don't see every day,"Willow commented.

"I've going to be in therapy until I'm thirty,"Cordelia complained.

Buffy suddenly realising the space next to her was empty. "Where's Ethan? Where did he go?"

Everyone was so focused that they didn't notice the goo spread until it touched Jenny's hand. She convulsed once, then woke up. "Are you all right, Jenny?"Giles asked her gently.

"Ow!"Jenny moaned, clutching her head.

"Careful. Can you stand?"

"I think so. "

"This is what happens when you have school on Saturday,"Cordelia sighed.

Giles helped Jenny to her feet. "Lean on me,"he insisted,"It'll be all right."

"Promise?"Jenny asked.

"I promise."

"I believe you." She buried her head in his chest.

So he couldn't see her eyes glow.


	9. Episode 2 Chapter 3

**I actually got another review, so thank you to that person!**

* * *

CHAPTER THREE

"How's your head?"Giles asked.

"Throbbing,"Jenny replied.

Giles led her towards the door, hoping to make a quick exit. No such luck. "I lost Ethan,"Buffy noted,"Giles, what's going on?"

"It's complicated,"Giles replied,"and, quite frankly, it's private."

"I don't care about private,"Buffy snapped,"I care about a dead guy attacking us. I care about you Lost Weekending in your apartment."

"I wasn't…" Giles broke off. "I was just trying to find a solution,"he attempted, realising it sounded feeble even to him.

"Giles, share,"Buffy persisted,"What is the Mark of Eyghon?"

"Hey!"Giles snapped,"This is not your battle. And as your Watcher, I am telling you unquivocally to stay out of it. Now I need to get Jenny home."

This time Buffy made no attempt to stop him leaving. But that didn't mean she considered it finished. As soon as Giles and Jenny were gone, she turned to where Xander, Willow and Cordelia were sitting in a row on the counter. "We've got work to do,"she told them,"Willow, I need you to find out anything you can about the Mark of Eyghon."

"I can look it up on the net,"Willow offered as she jumped down and headed towards the table,"but Mark of Eyghon sounds more like Giles and his books sorta deal."

"Then we hit the books. Xander, how do you feel about going through Giles' personal files and seeing what you can find?"

"I feel pretty good about it,"Xander replied smoothly,"Does that make me some sort of sociopath?" He headed for the office.

Cordelia jumped down and waited for her instructions. Then she waited some more. "What?"Buffy asked, confused.

"What about me? I care about Giles too,"Cordelia protested.

Buffy wasn't quite sure how to take the offer. Cordelia had helped out in the past certainly, but usually under extreme duress. Still, she almost qualified as a friend and Buffy wasn't going to turn her away. "Help Xander."

Cordelia looked considerably less keen all of a sudden. "Okay, when I say care, I mean…"

"Cordelia,"Buffy interrupted sharply. Being nice to her only went so far.

"Okay, okay." Cordelia headed into the office.

* * *

Jenny was sitting on the couch in Giles' apartment. "Thanks for bringing me back here. I'm not ready to be home alone right now."

Giles poured her a drink and brought it over to her, before kissing her softly on the side of the head. "Jenny…I'm very sorry about all of this. I never meant for you to be involved in any of this."

Jenny just smiled. "Well, I got involved. I guess that's what happens when two people…get involved." She leaned in and kissed him.

It wasn't unwelcome by any means but Giles knew there were weightier issues. "I really should get you home,"he told her,"I'm not a very safe person to be around at the moment."

Jenny looked at him and for one awkward moment he had a feeling she knew more than she should. "Nothing's safe in this world, Rupert,"she told him,"Haven't you worked that out by now?"

* * *

"Ah-ha!" Willow leapt up and put the book she'd been reading down in front of Buffy. "It's not Egyptian, it's Etruscan. Often mistaken for Egyptian because of the design pattern but any fool can see it predates their iconology. Look, the Mark of Eyghon, worn by his initiates." She pointed to the drawing on the page. "Egyphon, also known as the Sleepwalker, can only exist in this reality by possessing an unconscious host. Temporary possession embues the host with a euphoric feeling of power."

"What about non-temporary?"Buffy asked.

Willow read on. "Unless the proper ritual are observed, the possession is permanent and Eyghon will be born from within the host."

"I'm guessing eww,"Cordelia noted.

"Once called forth, Eyghon can also possess the dead,"Willow continued,"However,its demonic energy soon disintegrates the host, at which point Eyghon must jump into the nearest unconscious or dead person."

Buffy shook her head. "I still don't get what this has got to do with Giles."

"I don't know about Giles,"Willow replied,"But ancient sects often summoned Eyghon for bacchanls and orgies."

Xander winced. "I was not ready to hear the words 'Giles' and 'orgies' in the same sentence."

"Wait a minute, the dead guy's all puddly now,"Buffy pointed out.

"So that means the demon's gone, right?"Cordelia asked,"There wasn't anyone else dead for it to jump into. I mean, we're all not dead right?"

"No,"Buffy agreed, but she was starting to get a sinking feeling,"No-one dead."

Xander completed the thought. "But someone unconscious."

* * *

Jenny looked carefully at the phone and then yanked the cord out of the wall. The last thing she needed was that pesky Slayer and her friends getting the right idea and interrupting them. Giles poked his head round from the kitchen. "What was that?"

"What was what?"Jenny asked innocently.

"I thought I heard something."

Jenny shrugged. "I didn't."

Giles came back through with a cup of tea. "Drink this,"he told her,"and then I'll drive you home."

"You could drive me home,"Jenny agreed,"Or you could take advantage of me in my weakened state."

* * *

Jenny's intervention had not come a moment too soon. At that moment, Buffy was trying to get through on the phone without success. "Thank you, operator." She put the phone down and turned to her friends. "There's no answer from Miss Calendar's and Giles has been cut off. I'm going to go over there."

* * *

Giles was feeling increasingly flustered. The attention was welcome but the situation was far from ideal. "Jenny, I…I'm very attracted to you."

"Good,"Jenny answered.

"But now really isn't the right time."

"Oh, there's never been a better time." Jenny flipped him so she was sitting in his lap, then brought her lips down on his.

Giles responded naturally but eventually found the strength to pull away. "It's not right, I would be taking advantage,"he insisted firmly.

Jenny scoffed. "Oh, you never change, do you?"

Giles looked at her, confused. "What?"

"It's not right. It's not proper. People might get hurt. You're like a woman, Ripper. You cry at every funeral. "

Giles wasn't quite sure what made him realise. Maybe it was the sudden hostile tone, the mocking words. Maybe it was that name, the one he'd used when trying to be someone else, someone he was now ashamed of. But suddenly he was quite aware that this wasn't Jenny talking.

"You were never strong enough for me,"she taunted,"You never deserved me. But guess what? You've got me."

Even though he knew it, it was still a shock when the next voice that came out of Jenny's mouth was not her own. It was the voice of Eyghon.

" _Under your skin_."

Her lips came down on his again, but when he pulled her away Jenny was changed. Not just her voice but her face. It had become fully demonic, showing the aspect of Eyghon. "Was it good for you?"she asked, then threw him away across the room, causing him to bang his head on the desk. "You never had the stomach for it. But that's okay. I'm going to rip it out." Giles tried to put up a fight but even if Eyghon hadn't been stronger than him, the knowledge that the woman he loved was in there somewhere held him back. Eyghon hurled him into a corner.

And then Buffy burst through the door. One look at what Jenny had become confirmed her theory. She kicked the demon away. "Back off,"she instructed.

Eyghon looked at her for a moment, then evidently decided it wasn't worth it. "Three down, two to go. Be seeing you." She turned and leaped through the window.

Buffy considered following her, but the crumpled heap on the floor drew her attention first. "Giles, are you all right?"

"Jenny,"Giles moaned,"Oh god!"

For a moment, Buffy was lost. However much she might make fun of him, Giles was the one person she'd always counted on to stay calm and tell her what to do. Now… "Giles, how do we stop this?"

Giles was in no mood to answer the question. "Oh god, what have I done?"

"Talk to me!"Buffy begged,"Giles, you're scaring me."

That seemed to have an effect on him, just a bit. "I'm sorry."

"I don't need you to be sorry, I need you to be Giles." Buffy struggled to get through to him. "Come on, Giles, we fight monsters. They show up, they scare us, I beat them up and they goes away. This time is no different."

"Yes, it is,"Giles insisted.

"Because you don't know how to stop it?"

When he looked at her, his eyes were full of guilt. "Because I created it."

* * *

"Did you find anything?"Willow asked as Xander emerged from the office.

"The most meticulous banking and phone records you've ever seen,"Xander replied,"And this." He held out a photograph of a young rocker.

It took Willow several moments to recognise the face. "That's Giles?!"

* * *

What had happened to Jenny had robbed Giles of any remaining reluctance to accept help or keep his secrets. Buffy sat and listened as he told her his story. "I was twenty-one, studying history at Oxford. And, of course, the occult by night. I hated it. The tedious grind of study, the overwhelming pressure of my destiny. I dropped out and went to London. Fell in with the worst crowd that would have me. We performed magicks. Small things for pleasure or gain. But Ethan and I discovered something…bigger."

"Eyghon,"Buffy supplied. She remembered when Giles had reversed Catherine Madison's spells. He had said then that he'd never performed magic before. A lie. To hide this from her.

"Yes,"Giles confirmed,"One of us would go into a deep sleep and the others would summon him. It was an incredible high." For a moment, he sounded nostalgic. Then he shook his head in disgust. "God, we were idiots."

"You couldn't control him,"Buffy realised.

"One of us, Randall…he lost control. Eyghon took him whole. We tried to drive the demon out…but it killed him." He shook his head. "No. _We_ killed him. We thought we were free of the demon after that. Now it's back. And one by one, he will kill us all."

"Three down, two to go,"Buffy quoted,"It's going after Ethan." She got to her feet. At least that was something she could do. "I'd better beat it there."

" _We'd_ better,"Giles corrected, getting up as well.

" _I'd_ better,"Buffy reiterated,"You're barely mobile and speed is of the essence."

Giles sank back into his chair, robbed of even that piece of worthiness. "I don't know how to stop him without killing Jenny."

Buffy looked at him with sympathy. He must have been her age or younger when he'd been told his future was mapped out for him, that he was destined to fight demons and evil as a Watcher. She could understand the desire to avoid that destiny, to rebel against it. She'd tried to run from being a Slayer many times. She'd been running when they'd first met. He'd helped her then. It was time to return the favour, give him hope. "Got the guys working on it,"she told him,"I'll try and contain it until we work something out. She wasn't sure if she could do it. But she'd try.

"Buffy…I'm sorry."

Buffy gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "I know." Then she hurried away.

* * *

Buffy remembered what Ethan had said about the shop being leased. It wasn't open anymore but that just made it more likely that he'd be there. She pushed open the door. "Ethan?" She ventured inside and headed towards the back. "Ethan? Giles told me everything. Eyghon's coming for you."

"And you came to protect me." The voice came from behind her. Buffy wasn't sure where Ethan had been hiding but she suspected it was something he did very often. "I'm touched."

"Don't worry, it's nothing personal,"Buffy replied scornfully,"To protect Giles, I need to protect you."

Ethan sighed with mock weariness. "How does Ripper inspire such goodness?"

"Because he's Giles,"Buffy told him simply.

"And I'm not. Still, lucky me!"

Buffy did nothing to hide her disgust. "Lucky you."

"Well, there's no point running. Eyghon will find us. This mark's like a homing beacon."

"I'm not much into running away anyway."

"Aren't we manly?"

"One of us is. You're going to hide until it's over."

Ethan smiled broadly. "Excellent plan!"

Buffy looked at the rear of the shop. "Is there a way in the back?"

"There's a door,"Ethan confirmed,"It's locked. I think it's solid."

"That's where we'll set up then." Buffy gestured for Ethan to lead the way but he simply repeated the gesture to her.

"Oh no, please." Ethan waited until Buffy had walked past him, then struck her across the back with part of a mannequin. She slumped to the ground, unconscious. "Ladies first."


	10. Episode 2 Chapter 4

**I seem to have picked up another follower, so thank you to that person!**

* * *

CHAPTER FOUR

Ethan sang to himself happily as he mixed the ink together. Not just ordinary ink, of course. Ink infused with the essence of the demon. Buffy was tied face down on a bench, her hands underneath it and her upper back exposed. "Wakey wakey,"he said cheerily,"You're missing all the fun."

"What fun?"Buffy asked drearily.

"Your initiation."

Buffy fought her wake back into consciousness and immediately understood the situation. "You know what? I'm not really interested in joining your club."

"Too late,"Ethan retorted,"I already voted you in. Don't take this personally, Buffy. I actually quite like you. It's just I like myself a lot more."

Buffy groped around and felt a sharp nail on the underside of the bench. She began rubbing her bonds against it, trying to sever them.

The fact that Ethan liked the sound of his own voice was helping. "If you think about it karmically, this is really big for your soul. Taking my place with the demon. Giving so that others can live."

Buffy shot him a look of pure hatred. "I'm going to kill you. Will that blow the whole karma thing?"

Ethan simply smirked. "Sweet child." He dipped the needle in the ink. "Now this may sting a bit. At first. But don't worry, that'll soon fade once the seering pain kicks in. You can go ahead and scream if you like."

The needle touched Buffy's back and she whimpered with pain.

* * *

Willow took a long sip of a cup of tea. She'd found it in Giles's store in the office and hoped it would make her feel like him. "We need to come up with a way to kill this thing and we need to do it fast," she announced.

Xander checked the book in front of him. "Hot lava."

"That's for a heretic,"Willow informed him testily.

Xander looked at the book again. "Oh yeah." He read further. "Bury a potato. No, that's for warts." He shook his head in disgust. "Who writes this stuff?"

"I've got the answer right here,"Cordelia announced,"To kill the demon…" She paused. "…cut off its head,"she finished awkwardly.

Xander looked at her scornfully. "Oh yeah. That's good. We'll just decapitate Miss Calendar. She can be the world's first headless computer teacher. No-one will notice."

Cordelia had never taken Xander's sarcasm lying down and she wasn't about to start now. "You know what you need, Xander, apart from a year's supply of acne cream? A brain."

Xander jumped to his feet. "That's it. Twelve years of you and I'm snapping. I don't care if you're a girl or not, I'm throwing down. Come on!"

Cordelia marched over to him. "I've seen you fight. And don't think I couldn't take you."

"Give it your best shot,"Xander retorted.

"Hey!"Willow shouted,"We don't have time for this! Our friends are in trouble and we have to put our heads together and get them out! So if you two aren't with me 110%, then you can get the hell out of my library!" She pointed towards the door dramatically.

Xander and Cordelia looked shamefaced. "We're sorry,"said Cordelia.

"We'll be good,"Xander added.

Willow took a deep breath. "Okay. We've done the research. We just need to work out how to use it."

"We could find another body for it to jump into?"Xander suggested.

"Yes!"Cordelia agreed,"At the cemetery!"

"That wouldn't kill the demon,"Willow pointed out,"It'd just give it a change of scenery. Unless… Oh. Oh! I've got it!" She dashed out.

"She's good,"Xander remarked as he and Cordelia followed.

* * *

Ethan finished the tattoo of the Mark of Eyghon on Buffy's back. "I think I missed my calling as an artist."

Buffy was beginning to recover from the pain. "Ethan, listen to me. This is a bad idea. You're dealing with something very dangerous."

"But it will get Eyghon off my scent." Ethan took out a bottle of acid and Buffy flinched away in fright. "Relax. I've finished with you. This is for me."

Ethan rolled up his sleeve to reveal his own tattoo…and poured the acid over his own arm. He cried out in pain but kept pouring. The spell of burning flesh assailed Buffy's nostrils. She closed her eyes and redoubled her efforts in severing her bonds.

* * *

Giles was still slumped on the floor in his flat when another flood of images hit him. The ceremony they'd performed all those years ago. The tattoos. Eyghon. But this time there was something new. Someone else adorned with the tattoo.

"Buffy,"he realised,"Ethan! Oh no…"

He staggered from the apartment.

* * *

Ethan was tying a crude bandage around his burnt arm. "Well, I hate to multilate and run,"he commented but then he stopped. A green glow was playing across the shop door. A figure was silhouetted on the far side. Eyghon. With a flick of its arm, the door sprang open.

Eyghon fixed its gaze on Ethan. "It's your time." Then it stopped and sniffed the air. Its gaze went from Ethan to Buffy. Then it threw Ethan aside, leaving him in a heap in the corner, and advanced on the Slayer.

Buffy snapped her bonds and jumped to her feet. She held out the bench that she had been strapped to like a shield between them, knocking Eyghon back. Eyghon pummelled the shield and eventually knocked it aside.

Then Giles ran in. He stood in the centre of the shop, arms held out in submission. "Eyghon, take me! Buffy, get out of here. "

Eyghon turned from Buffy, quite happy to take the offer. Buffy ran in between them. "No! No!"

Eyghon threw Buffy aside and she landed next to Ethan. The demon grabbed Giles by the neck. "I've been waiting a long time for this."

Then someone else entered the fight, pushing Eyghon away from Giles. Angel. Xander, Willow and Cordelia piled into the shop after him. The vampire and the demon tussled and Angel grabbed Jenny by the throat.

"He's killing her!"Giles protested.

"No, trust me, this is going to work,"Willow assured him.

Then the demon left Jenny. She slumped to the floor, free of possession. "Jenny?"Giles asked in wonder.

Everyone's gaze turned to Eyghon's new host. Angel's features began to change into that of the demon. Then they turned into that of his vampiric self.

Buffy got to her feet and stood with her friends. She glanced across at Cordelia. Not too long ago, the last time Ethan had been around, Buffy and Willow had attempted to convince Cordelia that Angel was a vampire. It looked like she'd finally got the message.

Angel's features changed again and again: His human self, his vampire self, Eyghon. Finally, the Eyghon part fell away and crumbled to dust.

Jenny began to stir and Giles hurried to her side. "Jenny?"

Her eyes cleared. "Rupert?"

Ethan watched the scene. With Eyghon dead, attention would soon be shifting back to him…and that wasn't an idea he liked very much. He slipped out of the shop.

Buffy looked at Willow with understanding. "You knew if you put the demon in danger it would jump to the nearest dead person."

"I put it in danger,"Angel confirmed.

"And it jumped!"Willow concluded.

"But I've had a demon inside me for two hundred years,"Angel explained,"Just waiting for a good fight."

Buffy smiled at him fondly. "Winner and still champion."

Xander was looking around the shop. "Er, I think that Ethan guy disappeared again."

"Darn,"Buffy sighed,"I was really looking forward to hitting him until he bled."

"At least it's over,"Cordelia noted.

Buffy looked at Jenny, sobbing in Giles' arms. She had a feeling that for some people it wouldn't be over for a long time.

* * *

"You know the worst part?"Buffy complained to Xander and Willow when they met up in the school yard on Monday,"I was saving up for some really important shoes and now I have to blow my whole allowance getting this stupid tattoo removed. Let's just hope my mum doesn't see it first."

"Putting that demon into Angel was pretty brill, Will,"Xander commented.

Willow shrugged. "I wasn't sure it was going to work."

"But it did,"Buffy pointed out.

"Like a charm,"Xander chimed in.

"Maybe you should consider a career as a Watcher,"Buffy suggested.

Willow shook her head. "Oh no. I couldn't handle the stress."

"And the dental plan is terrible,"Xander added.

"I don't know how Giles does it. "

Buffy looked across the yard in time to see Giles disappearing into the school building. The responsibility of destiny. She understood it well. But now perhaps, she understood Giles a bit better as well. "I'm not sure he has a choice."

* * *

Giles hurried down the corridor, seeing Jenny about to climb the stairs. "Jenny…Jenny!"

She turned round. Polite. "Oh, hi, Rupert."

"I tried to call you last night, see how you were. "

"I had the phone off the hook. I seem to need a lot of sleep lately. "

It had been a very different weekend to the one they'd had planned. "But you're all right? Is there anything you need?"

"I'm fine." The mask dropped a bit and he saw a glimpse of the pain in her eyes, the memory of being violated the way she had. "I mean, I'm not running-around-wind-in-my-hair-the-hills-are-alive-with-the-sound-of-music fine, but I'm coping."

"I would like to help,"Giles ventured.

Jenny looked at him with understanding. "I know."

"Perhaps we could talk some time,"Giles suggested hopefully,"Dinner or a drink? When you're feeling stronger. "

"Sure, some time,"Jenny agreed without any real conviction. Giles reaching out for her hand but she pulled away. "Yeah. Some time." Maybe she even meant it. But one thing was clear: She didn't want to be around him at that moment. "I need to get to class." She hurried up the stairs.

"Yes, of course,"Giles replied. There was no hate or fear in her. Perhaps that would have been easier to deal with. In a way, she probably understood. But she'd gone through what she'd gone through because of him. She understood that as well. They both did.

Buffy came over. "Is she okay?"

Giles sighed. "The hills are not alive."

Buffy looked bemused. "I'm sorry to hear that. I think."

She deserved more than that, Giles knew. She and the others had risked their lives to save him and Jenny, despite all his attempts to push them away. "I don't think she'll ever really forgive me. Perhaps she shouldn't."

"Perhaps you should,"Buffy said quietly.

She suddenly seemed a lot more grown up. Not the frivolous young girl he'd spent so long trying to mould. An equal. "I never wanted you to see that side of me."

"I'm not going to lie to you, it was scary,"Buffy admitted,"I'm so used to you being the grown-up. Then I find out you're a person."

Giles smiled at that. He knew the feeling well. "Most grown-ups are."

"Who would've thought?"

Giles sighed. The guilt still lingered, the deaths he'd helped cause. Nearly everyone else who'd summoned Eyghon was dead. "Some are even short-sighted, foolish people,"he said sadly.

"So, after all this time, we finally find out that we have something in common,"Buffy commented, "Which apart from being a little weird is kind of okay."

Giles looked at her, saw the understanding in her eyes, and reflected on how extremely fond of her he'd become.

Buffy cleared her throat. "I think we're meant to be having a training session now."

Giles understood it for what it was. An attempt to get things back to normal. He appreciated it. "Yes, we need to concentrate on your flexibility."

Buffy held up a CD. "And you know what? I've got the perfect music for it." She waved the case in front of his face. "Come on, say it. You know you want to…"

"It's not music, it's just meaningless sounds,"Giles provided.

Buffy smiled at him. "There. Feel better?"

"Yes. Thanks. " The surprising thing was, he did feel a bit better. He led the way towards the library. "The Bay City Rollers. Now, that's music."

Buffy shot him a withering look. "I didn't hear that."


	11. Episode 3 Prologue

**Picked up another favourite and follows, so thank you to those people!**

* * *

EPISODE THREE: Earshot

PROLOGUE

Buffy ran. It was what she did most nights, often, as now, with a demon on her tail. She headed into a children's play area, long deserted by its intended users who were probably safely in bed. And then she stumbled. The demon loomed over and she shrank away. It raised a foot to kick her. She blocked it. And smiled.

"You demons can't resist a rough and tumble, can you?"

Buffy was on her feet immediately, the demon taken by surprise by her feint. She struck back with punches and kicks, ready to strike a blow…and that was when a second demon, identical to the first, appeared out of nowhere and blocked her arm.

Buffy backed away, facing two opponents now. She drew a knife and hurled it, but her target caught it. The other demon managed to grab her from behind but she threw it into the swings. The demon who had caught the knife threw it back at her but she managed to catch it. As the nearest demon charged, she grabbed its arms, flung it so it landed on a picnic table, then plunged the knife into its chest, killing it.

The remaining demon clearly had no intention of sharing the fate of its fellow. It turned and ran down the street.

Buffy turned away from her downed opponent, taking in the empty space. "One down…one gone."

She thought nothing of the silvery patch of the demon's blood on her hand. Not even when it was absorbed into her skin…


	12. Episode 3 Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

"So, Scabby Demon got away?"Willow asked as she and Buffy walked through the school corridors the next morning.

"Scabby Demon Number Two got away,"Buffy corrected,"Scabby Demon Number One, big check in the slay column."

"I don't like this whole no mouth thing,"Willow opined, recalling Buffy's description of the pair, "It's disquieting."

"Well, no mouth means no teeth,"Buffy noted. She considered the matter for a moment. "Unless they have them somewhere else…"

The two of them turned into the library. Giles was there already, along with Xander and Oz. Willow slipped into a seat next to her boyfriend, who had become a valued part of Buffy's inner circle in the year they'd been together.

"Here we go, we've been researching the Mayor's forthcoming ascension,"Giles told them.

"It's pretty riveting stuff,"Oz confirmed.

Buffy sat down next to Xander, instantly tense at the mention of their current biggest worry. The revelation that Sunnydale's mayor, Richard Wilkins III, was the latest big evil in town had been followed by the revelation that her fellow Slayer, Faith, called into existence as a result of Buffy's own temporary death, was working for him, neither of which she wanted to leave unresolved for too long. "What do we know?"she asked.

"What _don't_ we know?"Xander asked confidently,"Tell her, Giles."

"Based upon the supposed date, Graduation Day, and the Mayor being impervious to harm,"Giles began, faltering slightly,"I've cross-referenced…"

"He's a cross-referencing fool,"Xander interjected admiringly.

"…and I've eliminated several possibilities,"Giles concluded,"It's not the ritual flaying of the demon Azarath nor the, uh…" He paused. Everyone waited. And waited. Giles sighed. "I don't know what's going to happen."

"That was kind of an anti-climax,"Oz mused.

"We don't know anything?"Buffy asked in horror,"The whole fake Angel thing was for nothing?"

"No, no, no,"Giles reassured her,"If nothing else, Angel's charade has brought Faith's treachery to the open and this information on the ascension will prove useful eventually, I just need to put it together."

Buffy said nothing. The charade in question had involved Angel pretending to turn evil and acting as Faith's partner in crime…and other things. Even though she'd known it was an act, seeing him cosey up to her had been uncomfortable to say the least.

Her mood was not improved by the appearance of a smooth, well-dressed figure. Wesley Wymondham-Price. Wesley's presence in Sunnydale was a further irritant. Giles had warned Buffy about a Council test that had nearly got her and her mother killed, a violation of orders that resulted in him being dismissed as her Watcher. Hence Wesley being sent as his replacement.

"Terribly sorry, I was detained,"Wesley stated with a self-satisfied air,"Official Council business. Mr. Giles, you were speaking?"

Giles looked out of his comfort zone. "I was just filling Buffy in on my progress regarding the research on the ascension."

Wesley smirked. "Oh, and what took up the rest of the minute?"

Giles had the good grace not to argue. "Touchè. Of course, my work is unofficial. I'm sure, however, with the resources of the Council at your disposal, you will have something to add."

Wesley addressed the gathering. "Well, I am pleased to state, with certainty, that the demon Azarath will not in any way be…involved…" He trailed off as Buffy, Xander, Willow and Oz all pushed their chairs back and walked out. "I'm sure we'll find out more soon!"he called after them.

Giles allowed himself a self-satisfied smirk. "Demon Azarath?"

* * *

"So have you talked to Angel lately?"Willow asked as she and Buffy headed towards their lockers.

"Not really,"Buffy admitted,"Seeing him bad, even pretend bad, and with Faith…"

"He only kissed her for the greater good,"Willow pointed out.

"I don't know. To the naked eye it looked like fun. Or maybe it wasn't. Maybe he wasn't even tempted. I just wish I could be sure."

"As always, I advise you to ask."

Buffy didn't seem convinced by the strategy. "Think he'd tell me?"

The reflection was interrupted by a group of the school's basketball team appearing at the end of the corridor. Another student ran up to the tallest of the group. "Hogan!Great game, man. "

"Hogan Martin,"Xander remarked bitterly, appearing next to his two friends,"Thinks he's sooo hot, like we should all be awed by him 'cause he can put a ball in the net."

"Hey, Xander,"Hogan greeted him.

Xavier stared at him, openmouthed. "He said my name! He knows my name!"he exclaimed in delight.

The group stopped in front of the trio. Percy West, the team member Willow had been tutoring, nodded a greeting to her. "Hey, Will."

"Hi."

"Um, look, I can't make the study session after school. Can we do it fifth period?"

"Okay. Did you finish the reading?"

Percy looked slightly awkward. "Most of it."

Willow gave him her best schoolmarm look. "Percy…"

"I'll finish it at lunch."

Willow smiled approvingly. "That's my little trooper."

"Don't know what you're doing to him. I actually heard him complete a sentence,"Hogan remarked, "It had a clause and everything."

Percy smiled sheepishly. "You're watching the game, right?"he asked Willow as the boys headed off.

"Wouldn't miss it!"Willow confirmed.

"See ya, Hogan!"Xander called after him.

"You're going to the game?"Buffy asked Willow as the two of them set off for class,"I didn't know you liked basketball."

"I didn't either,"Willow agreed,"But I really started getting into it. Especially now we're in the championship. It's so exciting. Too bad you're patrolling, we're all going: Oz, Xander, everyone!" She skipped away happily.

"Great, everybody who isn't currently Buffy,"Buffy sighed.

* * *

Giles examined Buffy's hand in his office. "You touched one of the demons?"he asked.

"A good touch,"Buffy clarified, worried how it sounded,"Not a bad touch. Anyway, it's been itching like crazy."

Giles picked one of his volumes off the shelf and showed her a picture. "Is that the demon in question?"

"In the disgusting flesh,"Buffy confirmed.

Giles examined the text. "Hmm, it says they can infect the host…" He trailed off.

"Infect?"Buffy asked anxiously,"Infect?!" Giles, oblivious both to her panic and the fact he'd left the thought unfinished, was engrossed in the book. "Giles!"she cried desperately," _Infect_?!"

Giles looked up. "Oh, um, infect the host with an aspect of the demon. That's all it says."

"An aspect of the demon?"Buffy asked.

"It's rather terse, isn't it?"Giles agreed.

"You mean, like a part of it?"

"Well, there could be any number of explanations for your hand,"Giles offered consolingly,"A new fabric softener can cause irritation. In any case, I would advise not to attempt to track the one that got away. Let's minimise your exposure."

"Part of the demon,"Buffy considered, not sounding at all happy at the prospect,"I hope it's not the outside part."

* * *

Cordelia was leading the cheerleaders at the pre-game rally, the quadrangle filled with several students. "H! O! G! A! N! It's Hogan! Go, Hogan!"

Hogan joined them to cheers and applause.

Buffy, Xander, Willow and Oz were sitting to the side of the gathering. "Is it me or is this really lame?"Buffy asked.

"I don't know,"Oz mused,"I usually enjoy lameness and this is leaving me kinda cold."

Willow was looking through the school newspaper, _The Sentinel_. "Well, according to Freddy's latest editorial, the pep rally is a place for pseudo-prostitutes to provoke men into a sexual frenzy which, when thwarted, results in pointless athletic competition."

"And the downside being?"Xander asked, probably only half-jokingly.

"The school paper is getting pretty depressing lately,"Willow remarked,"You guys notice that?"

"I don't know, I always go straight to the obits,"Oz answered.

Willow looked at Buffy, who was running her fingers through her hair, not so much in a seductive manner but the way a nit nurse might. "What are you doing, Buffy?"

"Nothing." Buffy hesitated, then looked pained. "Checking for horns,"she admitted before getting up and walking away.

Willow went after her, stopping her a few feet away. "Ah, you know, Buffy, I don't even think Giles is right about you becoming a demon. I mean, he's totally burned. You know, dealing with Faith and the ascension thing. Between you and me, he's not doing his best work."

"What if he is right?"Buffy asked,"I'm suddenly going to grow this demon part and we don't even know what it is. It could be claws or scales or…" She saw a look of horror cross Willow's face. "What?"

"Was it a boy demon?"Willow asked.

Buffy wished she hadn't.

Xander and Oz were continuing to watch the cheerleaders chanting out the names of the players. "T! O! M! It's Tom! Go, Tom!"

"They really are very good!"Xander enthused.

"Their spelling's improved,"Oz agreed.

"You know, Oz, I look at all this beauty, all these healthy young women, and I wonder why I ever wasted my time on Cordelia,"Xander mused,"I mean, look at her. She's no better looking than the rest of them."

Oz was aware that Xander hadn't entirely got over the end of his and Cordelia's unexpected period as a couple. "None of them are really my…"

"Oh my god, he's looking at her!"Xander exclaimed suddenly. Oz followed his gaze and saw Wesley, paused in the process of going up a flight of stairs and looking at the stage. "He's got his filthy, adult, Pierce Brosnny eyes all over my Cordy!"

Oz looked as close to bemused as he ever got. "You're a very complex man, aren't you?"

"It's just I'm scared, Will,"Buffy was saying nearby,"There's this thing in me and I can't find it, I can't stop it. What if it changes me? Not just the way I look. All of a sudden I could be something that's not me anymore."

Willow's response was a whoop and a cheer and the fact it was directed at the stage didn't make Buffy feel much better. Willow looked apologetic. "Sorry…they spelled Percy and I have to show support. He's needy. But I heard what you were saying, really. And I would be frightened too but I'm sure you're gonna be okay."

* * *

Buffy was patrolling again, despite Giles' warning. After all, Sunnydale containing a lot more evil and dangers than the remaining scabby demon: They weren't even the most dangerous thing around at that time, even if they were at the front of her mind.

Buffy took out her compact and examined her face. "Still got a mouth,"she remarked in relief.

If someone had been standing behind her, she would have seen them in the compact. Unless, of course, they were a vampire. Unfortunately, when she turned round that was exactly what was standing behind her.

"Sorry,"Angel said sheepishly as she jumped.

"It's okay. I didn't see you so I should have known you were there. What are you doing here?"

"It's a dangerous time. You know, with Faith."

Buffy nodded. "Yeah, Faith. She...well, Faith, what can you say about her?"

"I just wanna make sure you're, you know, okay. That's you're safe."

"And the fact that you're right here, does that mean Faith's around?" She was aware the question sounded more like an accusation. And also that part of her probably meant it as one. She pulled it back anyway. "Are you keeping me safe by tracking me or are you tracking her?"

"I'm tracking you,"Angel said simply,"Something's bothering you."

"A lot of things,"Buffy sighed,"The most recent being this demon. Actually, two. I touched one of them and now I'm going to get a big case of the bumpies or a tail or something."

"An aspect of a demon,"Angel translated.

"You know the drill."

"By rumour. That doesn't mean anything,"Angel suggested,"I mean, sometimes, demons, they just exaggerate their power."

"Demon hype." Buffy considered the possibility. "Maybe not. I spend all my time in the dark here anyway. It's not like I'd be at a game, you know, with my friends, where someone could see me and my new monster part."

Angel took her by the shoulders. "Hey, I won't let anything happen to you if I can help it," he said sincerely,"No matter what, I'll always be with you. I'll love you even if you're covered with slime."

Buffy gave a sad smile. "I like everything until that part."

* * *

"Could you believe it? Right at the buzzer. Three points for the win!"Willow remarked excitedly as she, Xander and Oz discussed the game in the school lounge room the next morning.

"It was intense,"Oz agreed in his usual laconic way.

"Yeah, for a minute there I thought you were going to make an expression,"Xander joked.

"Well, I felt one coming on, I won't lie,"Oz agreed.

"Man, I've never seen anyone jump like Hogan Martin,"Willow enthused,"They should call him the Jumper!"

"Or a name that isn't an article of women's clothing,"Xander pointed out,"Hey, remember when…"

Willow saw Buffy coming and shushed him. Unfortunately, the three of them sitting in silence wasn't the least suspicious thing they could have done.

"Hmm, quietness,"Buffy mused as she sat down,"We either lost or we won and you don't want me to feel bad."

"Well, yeah, it wasn't really a good game,"Willow attempted.

"Yeah, tall hoops with tall thin guys, what's the point?"Xander agreed.

"Pretty dull,"Oz contributed

Cordelia was passing by the table and stopped at the comment. "Are you guys crazy? That was an incredible game! I've never cheered so hard in my life. I still have knee marks on my back." Everyone looked at her, both wanting and not wanting to know what caused them. "From the pyramid,"she explained, as if it were obvious, then went to join a group of friends.

Willow looked back at Buffy. "Yeah, well, I still bet patrolling was way better! Because, wow, important."

"I thought I saw a four-legged demon,"Buffy attempted,"But it was just a dog."

"A weredog?"Oz asked.

"Regular "

"Tough luck,"Xander remarked but his gaze hadn't left Cordelia since she'd walked away from them. _I wonder if she and Wesley have kissed._

"Bugs you, huh?"Buffy asked.

Xander turned round. "Huh?"

"Cordelia and Wesley, smooching."

Xander sighed. "Man, you read my mind."

Buffy stared at him, realisation dawning. She'd read his mind.


	13. Episode 3 Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

Buffy stepped into the school corridor. She nearly bumped into one of the teachers when he emerged from a side room. "Ooh, woah there, you watch where you're going now,"he told her in a kindly tone.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Beach, I will,"she apologised. But as he walked away, she heard what he was really thinking. _Students. If we could just get rid of all the students._

Buffy focused on a boy nearby. _When I'm a software jillionaire and you're all flipping burgers, who's the loser then?_ he was thinking. She turned her attention to a depressed looking girl at a drinking fountain. _Maybe I'll take French, I said. How hard can it be? French babies learn it! Idiot._ Another boy seemed to be wearing trousers several sizes too big for him. _I swear, some day my pants are gonna fall right off._

As she carried on, she picked up the thoughts of one of the boys she was passing. _Buffy is so beautiful._ Buffy stopped and smiled. _I mean, look at that body._ She adopted a pose for the benefit of her silent admirer. _God, I would love to shove her against that locker right now and just…_

Buffy's smile abruptly vanished and she quickened her pace.

* * *

"Is this the thing? The aspect thing?"Buffy asked once she reached the library and Giles,"Because I gotta say, it is way better than a tail. I mean, I have a hard enough time finding jeans that fit right."

"Buffy, slow down,"Giles counselled,"I'm not even convinced that this is genuine mind-reading. You're most likely projecting your own…"

"When I walked in a few moments ago, you thought 'Look at her shoes. If a fashion magazine told her to, she'd wear cats strapped to her feet.'"

Giles' expression told her she was right. "I…um…" He looked thoughtful. _The demons are telepathic. I should have known. That's why they didn't need mouths._ "Of course, demons are telepathic…"

"I know, you just told me,"Buffy interrupted,"That's why they don't need mouths. And you should have known."

Giles looked at her in astonishment. "This is astonishing!"

"It was happening out in the hallway. Principal Snyder has _Walk Like an Egyptian_ stuck in his head. And the boys at this school are seriously disturbed. It's weird but, Giles, think about it. Think what I could do."

"It could be very useful,"Giles agreed,"You could anticipate your opponent's every move, turn his plans against him. I wonder why the demons didn't do that to you. Maybe they're only telepathic with their own kind…"

Buffy dismissed his musings with a wave. "Oh, way better than that. "

* * *

"Jealousy,"Buffy announced confidently.

Ms. Murray looked at her approvingly. "Buffy, right. Very good."

 _I knew that_ claimed class swot Nancy Doyle to herself. Buffy was aware of that, of course, since she'd got the answer from reading Nancy's mind.

"Jealousy clearly is the tool that Iago uses to undo Othello. But what's his motivation? What reason does Iago give for destroying his fellow officer?"Ms. Murray asked.

 _Cassio has my place_ Nancy recalled silently, sounding bored. _Twix my sheets, he's done my office._

"Well, he was passed over for promotion,"Buffy answered,"Cassio was picked instead and people were saying that Othello slept with his wife."

She was beginning to get curious looks from the rest of the class. _Buffy did the reading?_ Willow wondered. _Buffy_ understood _the reading?_

 _When did she study?_ Xander wondered. _Was I supposed to study? Ms. Murray's kinda hot._

 _I was going to say Cassio_ complained Nancy. _Uh, I hate her._

"Any other reason?"Ms. Murray asked.

"Race!"Nancy blurted out, before giving Buffy a triumphant look.

"Uh, good, Nancy, can't overlook that,"Ms. Murray agreed.

 _Look at them, scrambling for the teacher's praise like pigeons for thrown bread crust_ taunted a boy nearby.

Buffy nudged Willow. "Will, who's that guy?"

"That's Freddy Iverson,"Willow explained,"He writes those editorials for the school paper. He's sardonic."

 _Bread crusts_ Freddy mused. _That's deep, I should write that down._ He got out a pen and started scribbling.

"There's something else at work here,"Ms. Murray continued.

Buffy sensed she was looking for a specific answer and searched the teacher's mind for it. "Well, he sort of admits himself that his motives are…" - she waited for Ms. Murray to silently prompt the next word - "…spurious. He does things because he enjoys them. It's like he's not really a person, he's the dark half of Othello himself."

Everyone stared at her, too stunned to even think.

Ms. Murray recovered first. "Really very astute, Buffy. I said something quite like that in my dissertation."

"I know,"Buffy replied,"I mean…I agree. With that."

"And doesn't that also explain Othello's readiness to believe Iago? Within seconds he turns on Desdemona. He believes she's been unfaithful,"Ms. Murray continued,"And we're all like that. We all have our little internal Iagos that tell us our husbands or girlfriends or whatever don't really love us. But you never really see what's in someone's heart."

Buffy suddenly felt a lot less triumphant.

* * *

Buffy pushed aside the black drape at the door of the mansion and Angel flinched away from the light she let in. "Ooh, sorry!"she apologised,"Sorry about the daytime. I just ducked out of school and that's when they have it."

She sat down, Angel sitting next to her.

"You look good,"she told him,"I mean, I know I only saw you last night but sometimes things can change really quick. I mean, really quick. Listen to me, I'm talking like Faith." She paused, waiting to hear what thought the mention of the name brought from Angel…but she heard nothing. "You know, not that she was so bad to have around…you know, before the evil." She paused but still nothing happened. "You know, I think she was hurting a lot and some people, protective people, might be drawn to that, I guess." She stared hard at Angel's head, as if expecting the words to suddenly appear there. "Well, the thing about Faith…"

"You can't get into my mind,"Angel told her simply.

Buffy was wrongfooted. "How did you..?" She abandoned all attempt at pretense. "Why not?"

"It's like the mirror. The thoughts are there but they create no reflection in you. You got the aspect of a demon?"

Buffy nodded. "Yeah, Giles doesn't know how long it's going to last. It's okay, a little headachey but..."

"You don't have to play games with me, Buffy. Ever."

"Well, you're not exactly Joe Here's What I'm Thinking,"Buffy pointed out.

"So ask me,"Angel returned.

"Oh but that would have made sense,"Buffy protested.

"What do you want to know about Faith?"Angel asked,"How I felt kisssing her, pretending to have no soul, watching you suffer?"

"Well, since you brought it up…"

"I hated hurting you, more than I could stand."

"Look, the thing about Faith, I understand it. You know, she has that whole bad girl thing working for her,"Buffy pointed out.

"Kissing her meant nothing. I don't want a bad girl,"Angel replied,"I've done that before. I've lived a long time, Buffy, and I'm past that. I've been with dozens of girls like her. More."

"Oh, this honesty stuff is fab,"Buffy sighed.

"There's no comparison,"Angel concluded,"In 243 years, I've loved exactly one person."

Buffy suddenly felt bad. "Oh,"she said quietly. Then a thought occurred to her. "It is me, right?"

Angel nodded. "Next time, just ask." He looked suddenly concerned. "And, Buffy, be careful with this gift. A lot of things that seem strong and good and powerful, they can be painful."

"Like immortality?"Buffy asked.

"Exactly, I'm dying to get rid of that,"Angel agreed.

"Funny."

"I'm a funny guy."

* * *

"She can read our minds?"Xander asked,"Our every impulse and fantasy?"

The group had assembled in the library - Buffy, Xander, Willow, Giles, Cordelia, Oz and Wesley. "Every one,"Buffy confirmed.

 _Oh god_ Xander concluded.

 _I don't see what this has to do with me_ was Cordelia's response. "I don't see what this has to do with me. "

"Well, I think it's great,"Willow suggested,"Right? I mean, you enjoy your other Slayer powers."

"Yeah and it'll be fun,"Buffy agreed,"Did you see Nancy Doyle's face in English class today?"

"Yeah, she's supercompetitive and you really showed her,"Willow enthused. But Buffy heard what she was really thinking. _She's hardly even human anymore. How can I be her friend now? She doesn't need me._

"No, I do need you,"Buffy insisted.

"OK, what are you talking about?"Cordelia asked,"Because you're are so creepy right now."

"I think there must be some precedence for occurrences such as this,"Giles suggested,"I'll research it. Wesley, can you give me a hand?"

"Of course,"Wesley agreed,"Where do you think we should start?"

Oz was staring into space. _I am my thoughts. If they exist in her, Buffy becomes everything that is me and she becomes me. I cease to exist._ "Hmm,"he mused out loud.

 _What am I gonna do?_ Xander was thinking. _I think about sex all the time. Sex! Help! Four times five is thirty. Five times six is thirty-two. Naked girls. Naked women. Naked Buffy. Oh stop me!_

"God, Xander, is that all you think about?"Buffy demanded.

Xander thought for a moment. "Actually…bye." He ran out.

"Xander has just illustrated something,"Wesley observed,"Chances are you're all going to be thinking whatever you least want Buffy to hear. It's a question, of course, of mental discipline." _Look at Cordelia. No, don't look at Cordelia! She's a student. Oh, I'm a bad man. I'm a bad, bad man._ Wesley noticed Buffy smirking at him. "Excuse me,"he coughed, making a sharp exit into the office.

"What's it like, Buffy?"Willow asked.

"I don't know. It's a little weird. But, please, don't for a second think that I don't need you because I do. I want to share this with you. It's like all these doors are opening to all these little worlds and I can just walk right inside."

Oz was continuing his musings. _No-one else exists either. Buffy is all of us. We think, therefore she is._

Willow noticed Buffy looking at Oz. _She knows so much. She knows what Oz is thinking. I never know that. Before long, she'll know him better than I do!_

"No, don't think that,"Buffy urged her.

"I can't help it, Buffy,"Willow replied helplessly,"I'm sorry, I just can't." She hurried out.

Oz got to his feet. "If you don't need me, I'm gonna follow the redhead. "He sauntered after his girlfriend.

Buffy sighed. "Guess I won't be writing that book, Gaining Friends Through Telepathy."

Cordelia was the only other teen left and the least interested. _Whatever. I wonder when I can go._ "Whatever. Can I go?"

Wesley stuck his head around the door. "Excuse me. Can you hear me thinking in here? I could go out into the hall."

Buffy sighed. "You know what? You stay. I'm getting a headache. I'll go. "

* * *

Buffy headed out into the corridor and was instantly hit by all the thoughts of the other students.

 _She is so hot!_

 _I hate my body._

 _No-one is ever going to love me._

 _What if I never get breasts?_

 _I can't believe the test is today._

Buffy clapped her hands over her ears to try and cut out the onslaught of noise. But the noise was in her head.

* * *

Giles beckoned Wesley over, gesturing to the book he was reading. "Here. It's happened before. A man in Ecuador. Quite recently."

Wesley came to his side. "Can we contact him?"

"I'd say not. He can't communicate with anyone."

"Dead?"

"No, he's in complete isolation. The power. He can't shut it off."

* * *

Buffy stood still in the cafeteria as the lunch lady spooled out her meal. She thought she heard the lunch lady think _All you do is eat_ but it was getting harder and harder to determine individual voices among the noise. _It's gonna get better. Please tell me it gets better. I hate school._

Jonathan Levenson was next in line. "Are you through with the mashed potatoes?"he asked as Buffy stood still. She looked at him, thrown. _She doesn't even know I'm here_ she heard him think.

Buffy moved through the cafeteria hearing the impatient _Come on! Come on!_ of the students waiting in line. Other voices began to filter through. _She's a loser. She has the sweetest face I've ever seen. Oh my god, quiet down. If I stand in just the right spot, I can probably see into the arm hole of her top._

Buffy held her ears in pain, dropping the tray. The mocking thoughts of her classmates hit her, adding to the noise.

And then, just for a moment, there was silence. And piercing through that silence she heard a single, hate-filled voice.

 _This time tomorrow, I'll kill you all._


	14. Episode 3 Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

Buffy looked wildly around the cafeteria. A sea of faces, any one of whom could have made that pronouncement, all of whom's thoughts were now echoing in her head. She grabbed people at random, trying to see the hatred and murder in their eyes, but all she managed to get was a mental cry of _She touched me!_ from Jonathan.

But most of the thoughts were about her. _She's gone nuts. That was so funny._

Unable to stand the cacophany, she clutched her ears in silent pain and collapsed to the ground.

* * *

When Buffy opened her eyes, she was outside, at the far end of the school playing field. A group of concerned faces was looking down at her: Xander, Willow, Cordelia, Giles and Oz. _I think she's waking up now_ Willow thought.

 _She's okay_ thought Oz.

 _Thank god_ thought Giles.

 _Her eyes are opening_ thought Xander.

 _I'm cold_ thought Cordelia.

"You all right?"Giles asked out loud.

"I told them not to move you,"Cordelia interjected,"They probably severed your spinal column."

"I'm okay,"Buffy insisted, struggling to her feet.

Giles didn't seem convinced. "Buffy…"

"No, really, I'm OK. Listen, there's a killer in the cafeteria."

"See, I've been saying for years that the lunch lady's gonna do us all in with her mulligan stew," Xander remarked.

"Xander!"Cordelia snapped reproachfully.

Xander was undettered. "I mean, what the hell's a mulligan?"

"Someone was thinking about it," Buffy insisted,"They thought 'This time tomorrow I'll kill you all.' I have to find them. "

"Well, did you recognise a voice?"Giles asked.

"No,"Buffy admitted.

"Boy or girl?"Willow checked.

"I don't know. It was hardly human. It was full of so much anger and pain." She took a few steps towards the school but even from that distance the sea of mental voices was loud enough to make her knees buckle.

"Buffy, come on,"Giles said, trying to guide her away.

"No, I have to find them,"Buffy persisted.

"Yeah,"Xander interjected dismissively,"I mean, who hasn't just idly thought about taking out the whole place with a semi-automatic?" Everyone looked at him. "I said idly."

"I know the difference,"Buffy insisted,"He…she…whoever, they meant it. They're gonna do it."

 _She looks so tired_ thought Giles.

 _How horrible!_ thought Willow.

 _I'm not getting any warmer_ was Cordelia's contribution.

 _I bet it was Hogan_ Xander decided.

 _Who could it be?_ Oz wondered

"Shut up!"Buffy snapped desperately, then saw their confused faces,"I'm sorry. It's just can you guys not think so loud? Or so much."

"Buffy, you should go home. I'll take you home,"Giles insisted.

"Yeah, okay…No! Look, I need you guys to go to the cafeteria and make a list of everyone that was there. We have to find that killer before lunch tomorrow."

"We'll do it, Buffy,"Willow agreed,"A list of all the students."

"Nancy was there. She's scary. And teachers too. Mr. Beach, he thought something about getting rid of all the students."

"Come on,"Giles insisted. He helped Buffy to his car as Willow gestured for Xander, Cordelia and Oz to follow her back towards the school.

"I can't shut it out, Giles,"Buffy admitted,"It's like this invasion of my head. It's like there's these strangers walking around in there. Look at this, I can't even be around people anymore. Not that they're really clamouring to be near me anyway. Even you."

"I'm sorry, Buffy, it's hard for all of us,"Giles said reassuringly,"Wesley and I are looking for a way to help."

"It'll be okay, right? Even if you can't get rid of it?"

"You'll be fine, I promise,"Giles told her soothingly. But she heard what he was really thinking. _If it doesn't go away, she'll go insane._

* * *

Xander, Willow, Cordelia and Oz had assembled in the library. "I think we have everyone that was in the cafeteria,"Willow announced,"I'll do some computer work, match it against the FBI mass-murderer profiles. See if maybe we can rule some people out."

"I'm still having trouble with the fact that one of us is just going to gun everyone down for no reason," Xander argued.

Cordelia raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, cos that never happens in American high schools."

"It's bordering on trendy at this point,"Oz agreed.

"Besides which, Sunnydale High,"Willow pointed out,"Centre of evil and all that. Let's get to work. We have until lunchtime tomorrow. We hope."

* * *

Joyce tucked Buffy into bed. "There, you look better already."

"Thanks, Mum,"Buffy replied gratefully.

"I'm going to get you another pillow."

"I really don't ned one,"Buffy protested but Joyce went and got one anyway.

"But you need another blanket,"she suggested disappearing again and returning with the item.

"Uh, Mum, I'm fine,"Buffy insisted.

"How about some soup? Chicken and stars."

"Mum, please just come sit with me?"Buffy asked.

Joyce hovered nervously in the doorway. "I've got laundry."

"Why are you..?" Then the thought Joyce had been trying to keep hidden hit Buffy like a mallet. She stared at her in shock. "You had sex with Giles? You had _sex_ with _Giles_?!"

Joyce looked pained. "It was the candy, we were teenagers."

Buffy remembered the night painfully. She just hadn't realised things had gotten that far between them. "On the hood of a police car?"

"I'll be downstairs, you feel better,"Joyce decided, beating a hasty retreat.

" _Twice_?!"Buffy shouted after her.

* * *

Willow was handing out sheets to Xander, Cordelia and Oz. "I've taken our list and narrowed it down to a dozen strong suspects. Here are your assignments."

"I was hoping there'd be assignments,"Xander sighed.

"I think I should work with Wesley,"Cordelia mused.

Xander gave her a despairing look. "You have no shame."

"Oh please, like shame's something to be proud of."

"Quiet!"Willow snapped. Everyone stared at her. "Sorry but this is important. Talk to everyone on your lists. And use the sample questions." They continued staring at her. "Today, people!"she snapped, sending them scurrying. "Oh, write neatly and label your worksheets," she added.

* * *

Willow had summoned Jonathan to the library and seated him in a chair while she prowled around him. "Fantasies are fun, aren't they, Jonathan?"

"I…guess,"Jonathan agreed uncertainly.

"We all have fantasies where we're powerful, more respected. Where people pay attention to us."

"Uh, maybe,"Jonathan acknowledged, still not sounding entirely sure what the conversation was about.

"But sometimes the fantasy isn't enough, is it, Jonathan? Sometimes we have to make it so people don't ignore us. Make them pay attention. You know what I'm talking about, don't you?"

Jonathan looked at her in complete confusion. "You want me to pay attention?"

* * *

Hogan was staring at Oz so much that he was actually forgetting to throw the basketball through the hoop. "This is for the yearbook?"he asked.

"Yeah, personality profile,"Oz explained, hoping it sounded as plausible as Willow thought it would.

"Can you ask it again?"Hogan asked.

Oz checked his worksheet. "Sure. Do you ever feel like you've created a false persona for yourself, the guy who does everything right, and how much of a strain does it put on you to maintain it?"

Hogan thought long and hard. "I guess…moderate strain." Oz scribbled his response. "Is that a good answer? I want to get this right."

"Yeah, that's good,"Oz assured him. Something told him he wasn't talking to a killer.

* * *

Cordelia entered a classroom. "Hi, Mr. Beach, I was just wondering…were you were planning on killing a bunch of people tomorrow?"

Mr. Beach, in the act of wiping the blackboard clean, stopped and looked at her.

Cordelia smiled sweetly. "Oh, it's for the yearbook."

* * *

Xander looked at the three attractive girls in front of him. "Okay, so turnoffs include smoking, insensitive men and burkenstocks. Now, your idea of a perfect evening. Katie, let's start with you. "

Xander resolved to thank Willow at some point.

* * *

Oz went into the newspaper office. "Freddy?" He saw the old issues of _The Sentinel_ pinned to the wall with a number of inflammatory headlines: _Teachers fail competency exam_. _Dropouts find happiness_. _Apathy on the rise: No-one cares._

What he didn't see as he left was Freddy hiding under the desk.

* * *

Buffy stood looking out her bedroom window. The town was dark. Most people had probably gone to sleep. But that didn't stop them thinking. Even from that distance, even when she wasn't in the same building, maybe even not in the same street, their thoughts assaulted her. She lay down on the bed, willing them to stop.

* * *

Giles and Wesley were in the library, adding ingredients to the potion they'd prepared. "Well, it seems to be coming along all right,"Wesley announced proudly.

Giles gave him a scornful look. "Yes, Buffy's being driven mad, we have no proof that this is going to work and it still requires the heart of the second demon which we have no idea how to get without the Slayer."

"Negative thinking doesn't solve problems!"Wesley rapped out smoothly.

"Who is going to get the demon heart?"Giles reiterated, before turning his back on his counterpart. "Berk. "

* * *

If Giles had been in the play area where Buffy had encountered the two demons, he would have got his answer. Angel.

Angel had tracked the demon down and was now engaged in fierce combat with it, hurling the creature around the area. They exchanged punches and Angel threw the demon on top of a table, jumping up after it and kicking the demon back onto the ground. The demon's tactics hadn't changed. It knew it was facing a superior opponent. It backhanded Angel, knocking him down, and then ran.

But Angel was fighting to save the sanity of the woman he loved. And he wasn't going to let the demon get away. He ran after it.

* * *

School had reconvened and so had questioning. Nancy stared at Willow hard, considering what she'd just asked her. "Do I often imagine classmates are spying on me or otherwise acting suspiciously?"

"Right,"Willow confirmed.

"Not until just now…"

* * *

Xander was sitting with Larry, former school jock turned gentleman, in the school lounge. He was having a hard time getting Larry to pay attention to something other than the meal. "What? Talk louder, dude!"

"I'm just saying it's gotta be frustrating for you, having the secret,"Xander attempted,"You gotta be kind of filling up with resentment, unexpressed rage, just waiting to burst out. Today at lunch?"

"What secret, me being gay?"Larry asked. Xander jumped. Larry had confessed his sexuality to him the previous year during a conversation so much at cross purposes he wasn't even sure what it had been about, but this time he'd said it so loudly half the school must have heard him. Larry clapped him on the shoulder happily. "Man, I'm out!I'm so out I got my grandma fixing me up with guys."

"That's…nice,"Xander offered awkwardly.

"But it sounds like you're having a tough time of it." Oh yes, Xander thought. That's what Larry thought that conversation had been about. "That weird Freddy Iverson guy that does the school paper?"

"He's gay?"Xander asked.

"No, dude. But I bet he'd put in a coming out announcement for you. Something tasteful."

* * *

Oz paused outside the door of the newspaper office. "Freddy?"he asked, knocking. He tried the door but it was locked.

He didn't see Freddy come round the corner, see him and quietly slip away.

* * *

"He's the only one we couldn't find,"Willow concluded when Oz reported back to the library.

"Yeah,"Oz confirmed,"Freddy Iverson."

"The newspaper guy?"Cordelia asked,"But we can't figure out if it's him without the worksheet, right?"

"We do have this, people,"Xander offered, holding up a copy of _The Sentinel_ ,"Today's editorial titled 'Big game draws mindless brain dead mob'."

Cordelia snatched the paper from him. "Does he mention the cheerleaders? Because we were on. "

* * *

Giles and Joyce stood in the doorway of Buffy's bedroom, looking at her curled up into a ball. "I can't stand this,"Joyce whispered,"I keep wondering if I'm hurting her with my thoughts. "

"You're not,"Giles told her quietly,"Not anymore. She can't pick one thought out of the din."

They heard a frantic pounding at the door and ran downstairs. Wesley was there already, opening the door to reveal Angel. He threw off the cloak that protected him from the sun and held up a bag triumphantly. "I got it."

Giles grabbed it from him.

* * *

Buffy woke from her semi-conscious state to find Angel sitting with her, the only person whose presence wouldn't cause her further hurt. He produced the flask with the serum Giles and Wesley had prepared and lifted it to Buffy's lips. "Uh, no,"she protested.

"I'm going to help you,"Angel replied before pouring the contents down her throat.

For a moment, Buffy relaxed. Then she began fitting and convulsing.

"Giles!"Angel shouted in panic.

* * *

Unaware of Buffy's situation, her friends ran through the school, searching for their suspect. But there was something else they were unaware of as well. Something a lot closer.

In the school watchtower, Jonathan opened up a case to reveal the components of a rifle and started assembling it.


	15. Episode 3 Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

Buffy slowly opened her eyes to find Giles, Wesley, Angel and Joyce grouped around her. She could see the relief on their faces, even though she could no longer hear their internal voices. That pleased her. "Angel,"she said softly.

"Thank god,"Joyce breathed,"Are you all right? Do you hear thoughts?"

"No." But then Buffy's mind snapped back to important matters. "Did you find the killer?"

* * *

Freddy got up from his desk and headed for the other door when Willow and Cordelia strode into his office, only to find Xander and Oz coming in that door. "Okay, Oz. You got me,"he sighed,"What are your friends gonna do, hold me down?"

"You'd better believe it, buster,"Willow snapped,"You can't threaten a big murder without getting us pretty darned ticked."

"Murder?"Freddy asked,"What murder?" He looked at Oz. "You're not here about the review?"

Oz was equally confused. "The review?"

Freddy leafed through back issues of _The Sentinel_. "Last Thursday." He selected the edition he wanted and handed it to Oz, gesturing to the right column.

Oz read the piece on his band's latest performance. "'Dingoes Ate My Baby play their instruments as if they have plump polish sausages taped to their fingers. 'Hmm."

Xander patted him on the shoulder. "Sorry, man."

Oz thought long and hard. "No, it's fair,"he decided at last.

"I get a lot of hate mail,"Freddy explained,"I thought you were gonna come and deliver some personally."

Something suddenly occurred to Xander. "Hey, if you find any tasteful announcement about me from Larry…"

"Xander, we have to figure this out,"Willow realised.

"We have no shot,"Cordelia argued,"The killer could be anyone. We lose."

"We've still got a few minutes,"Buffy corrected her as she entered the office.

"Buffy!"Willow exclaimed in delight.

"You're okay!"Xander realised, "Can you still hear thoughts?" Buffy shook her head. Xander sagged. "Just when I wasn't thinking about sex."

"Okay, here's the new plan,"Buffy decided,"We're going to get Snyder to evacuate the school. I just hope the killer's not waiting outside."

Cordelia had picked up a letter from the desk and was reading it. "'By this time tomorrow, you'll all know what I've done. I'm sure you'll understand why I had to do it and that, although death is never easy, it's the only way.' God, doesn't anyone write in to praise the cheerleaders? We are so unsung. "

Willow snatched the letter from her and read the signature. "Jonathan! Oh, I had him in my grasp. Slippery weasel."

"Split up,"Buffy ordered,"Find him."

They all ran out of the office. Apart from Freddy, who was still wondering what was going on.

* * *

The group ran through the school. Oz checked the classrooms. Cordelia checked the student lounge. Willow ran into the library. "Jonathan! Are you in here?" She received no answer. "Nope."

Xander ran into the still empty cafeteria. "Jonathan! Jonathan!"he shouted. Then his gaze was drawn towards the food on display. "Ooh. Jello."

And throughout it all, on top of the watchtower, Jonathan methodically assembled the rifle, ready for use.

* * *

Buffy was crossing the quadrangle when she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye. She looked up at the watchtower and glimpsed him. Jonathan, hefting a rifle.

Buffy ran. She headed for the stairs, jumping onto the banister and running up it, building momentum. When she reached the top, she leaped, catching hold of the overhang and flipping herself up so she landed on the roof.

Nancy watched the athletic display then snorted dismissively. "I could have done that."

Buffy smashed through the boarded up window of the watchtower and Jonathan swung the rifle round to cover her. "Get away from me!"

Buffy did her best to appear as non-threatening as possible. "Okay, Jonathan, you wanna point that somewhere else?"

Jonathan pointed the gun slightly away from her but didn't lower it. "Don't you try and stop me."

Buffy did her best to keep her tone measured and casual. "No, no, no stopping. Just here for the view." She pretended to glance out the window. "Hey, look, city hall!"

"Go away,"Jonathan insisted.

Buffy dropped the pretense, her voice soft but firm. "Never going to happen."

"You think I won't use this?"

"I don't know, Jonathan, I just…" She took a step forward but he moved back, bringing the gun up defensively.

"Stop doing that!"Jonathan shouted.

Buffy was confused. "Doing what?"

"Stop saying my name! Like we're friends. We're not friends. You all think I'm an idiot. A short idiot."

Buffy felt the stirring of sympathy. "I don't,"she said quietly,"I don't think about you much at all. Nobody here really does. Bugs you, doesn't it? You have all this pain and all these feelings and nobody's really paying attention."

"You think I just want attention?"

Buffy looked at him pitifully. "No, I think you're up in the clock tower with a high-powered rifle because you want to blend in." Jonathan sagged at the cutting remark and Buffy switched back to empathy. "Believe it or not, Jonathan, I understand about the pain."

Jonathan looked at her scornfully. "Oh, right, because the burden of being beautiful and athletic is such a crippler?"

Buffy felt her sympathy evaporate. "You know what? I was wrong. You are an idiot. My life happens to, on occasion, suck beyond the telling of it. Sometimes more than I can handle. And it's not just mine. Every single person down there is ignoring your pain because they're too busy with their own. The beautiful ones, the popular ones, the guys that pick on you. Everyone." She turned to look out the window, looking down at the quadrangle full of people whose innermost thoughts she'd heard so recently. Jonathan came to stand beside her, curious. "If you could hear what they were feeling,"she said quietly,"The loneliness. The confusion. It looks quiet down there. It's not. It's deafening." She glanced at the rifle, hanging limply at his side. "You know, I could've taken that by now."

Jonathan looked completely drained. "I know."

"I'd rather do it this way." Buffy placed a hand gently on the weapon. Jonathan let go and she quickly removed the clip.

"I just wanted it to stop,"Jonathan said quietly.

"Yeah, well, mass murder's not really doctor recommended for that type of pain. Besides, prison, you know, it's a lot like high school, only instead of noogies…"

"What are you talking about?"Jonathan asked, astonished.

Buffy paused. She thought the speech was going well. "Actions having consequences, you know, stuff like that."

Jonathan gaped at her. "I…I would never hurt anyone! I came up here to kill _myself_!"

Buffy looked at the weapon in her hand. "With a rifle?"

Jonathan shrugged. "It's my dad's. I didn't have enough money for anything smaller."

Then Buffy realised. It wasn't Jonathan she'd heard. The real killer was still out there.

* * *

Xander followed the lure of his stomach into the school kitchen and there he was rewarded with the sight of several bowls of jello, just waiting to be eaten. Smiling, he pickedup a bowl and scooped out the contents, preparing to devour them. And then his gaze drifted up to the lunch lady, pouring a large amount of rat poison into the meals intended for the students. She froze momentarily, realising she'd been caught.

Xander dropped the bowl and ran, the lunch lady pausing only to scoop up a meat cleaver before following him. He ran out into the cafeteria where people were already assembling for lunch and began overturning tables, knocking plates on the floor, desperate to stop the students eating the poisoned food. "Rat poison! Rat poison!"he shouted.

The lunch lady came charging at him with the cleaver. Xander dodged but lost his footing and sprawled on the ground, a sitting target. The lunch lady loomed over him, preparing to bring the cleaver down…

…and Buffy caught her arm, arresting the movement. "Okay, let's calm down,"she said firmly.

The lunch lady looked at her with eyes full of hatred. "Vermin. You're all vermin. You come in here and you eat and you eat and you eat. Filth!"

Buffy sighed. "I don't see this one being settled with logic."

She knocked the cleaver out of the lunch lady's hand. The lunch lady swung a punch at her but Buffy ducked and responded with two of her own, catching her in the face both times. Then she followed it up with a kick to the chest, which sent the would-be murderer toppling over a table and landing in a heap on the floor.

Buffy turned to Xander and they both breathed a sigh of relief that it was finally over.

* * *

"So, you're feeling better about Angel?"Willow asked as she and Buffy walked towards school the next day.

"Well, we talked and then he ripped out the heart of a demon and fed it to me and then we talked some more,"Buffy answered.

Willow smiled, relieved. "See?That's how it should work. "

"Morning,"Giles called out as he approached them.

"Hi, Giles,"the two girls reciprocated. Willow scowled suddenly. "Oh, I should get to the yearbook office. I'm gonna give 'em the murderer profiles. They're really a good read." She hurried away.

"How are you?"Giles asked Buffy quietly.

"Loving the quiet." She tapped her head. "Nobody in here but me."

"Jonathan, how's he?"

"Not so good. His parents are freaking. He got suspended and toting a piece to school, not exactly winning him a place with the in crowd. But I think he's dealing."

"It's good of you to check on him,"Giles told her.

Buffy shrugged. "It's nice to be able to help out someone in a non-Slayer capacity. Except he's starting to get that look, like he's going to ask me to the prom."

Giles considered the matter. "Well, it would probably be good for his self-esteem if you…"

"Oh, come on!"Buffy protested,"What am I, Saint Buffy? He's like, three feet tall!"

Giles smiled fondly at her. "I'm glad to see you've recovered from your psychic encounter more or less intact. Do you feel up to some training?"

"Sure,"Buffy agreed,"We can work out after school. You know, if you're not too busy having sex with my mother." And with that parting shot, she walked away.

Giles stared after her. And walked into a tree.

* * *

 **All opinions welcome!**

 **As a rule, I don't do the legal bit, since I think most people are smart enough to work out for themselves that I'm not Joss Whedon. Or JK Rowling. Or Roger Price. Or Sara Shepherd. Or Stan Lee. In this case however, it would be remiss of me not to note that this novelisation was based on teleplays by Dana Reston, Dean Batali and Rob Des Hotel, and Jane Espenson. If any of you ever read this, I hope you will be flattered and not sue.**


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